Two of Pakistan's experienced hands guided them to victory in their first game in almost three months, and their first bilateral tour of India in five years. An early burst from debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who began his international career with a fabulous display of swing bowling, rattled the Pakistan top order but the calm presence of Mohammad Hafeez and some enterprising batting from Shoaib Malik put a chase of 134 back on track.

Pakistan had another scare at the death, losing two in quick time when victory appeared secure, but Malik ultimately saw them through in the final over, sealing the game with a six. The hosts were a specialist bowler short, as the Pakistan pair targeted the non-regulars, but a more significant factor in India's loss was their implosion with the bat, when they lost nine wickets for 47 runs in 46 balls.

A 36,000-strong crowd had been silenced during an impressive display of bowling backed up by some excellent ground fielding that had helped Pakistan fight back after India's openers had laid a strong foundation in an attractive stand of 77 in under 11 overs. The decibel levels at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, however, hit their peak when Bhuvneshwar swung it this way and that, setting up two of this three victims with outswingers before nipping one back in to dismantle the stumps. At 12 for 3, Pakistan were reeling; their rebuilding was steady, and resulted in 24 boundary-less deliveries, but Hafeez and Malik pounced in at the right time.

Virat Kohli was one of the part-timers used by India, and Hafeez slogged him for two boundaries in the 11th over, at the start of which the required-rate had hit almost nine an over. Yuvraj Singh dragged the ball too short on occasion and was heaved for two sixes by the pair and they each stepped out to Ravindra Jadeja to dispatch him for maximums over his head.

The return of India's seamers didn't immediately check Pakistan, as the equation was brought down to 16 off the last three overs, but Ishant Sharma dismissed Hafeez and conceded just two in an over in which he had Malik caught off a no-ball for height. Ashok Dinda was given the penultimate over and he left Pakistan needing 10 off the last, which Malik helped achieve with a straight six off a Jadeja length delivery to win with two balls to spare.

Smart stats

Pakistan's five-wicket win is their first in Twenty20 internationals against India. In three previous matches they'd tied one and lost two.

The 106-run stand between Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik is the highest for the fourth wicket in Twenty20 internationals for Pakistan, and the third-highest by any team.

The partnership is also the first time a fourth-wicket pair have added more than 100 after coming together with the score reading less than 15.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 3 for 9 in 4 overs equals the record for the most economical debut performance in Twenty20 internationals (among bowlers who've bowled four overs).

Hafeez's 61 is his third half-century in T20 internationals, but his first against a team other than Zimbabwe.

Malik's unbeaten 57 is his highest score in T20 internationals, and his first half-century in his last 39 innings in this format.

Ajinkya Rahane's supreme timing was the feature of India's opening partnership, as he lofted Pakistan's bowlers over extra cover effortlessly, though they hit back after he fell upper-cutting to third man. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal were the architects of that comeback, after being struck for sixes in their respective opening overs. Gul was smashed over midwicket by Gambhir, but had Yuvraj Singh caught in the deep off a slower ball in his new spell before removing two in two towards the death. Ajmal was carted over extra cover by Rahane, but returned to dismiss MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina with quicker deliveries at a time when India would have backed themselves to reach a score of around or above 150.

Gambhir had started picking up the pace but was caught short of the crease when attempting a second run in the 13th over. Sohail Tanvir returned a throw on the half-volley to Kamran Akmal, who collected well and dislodged the stumps. Kohli and Yuvraj began well but fell trying to heave the seamers over square leg - left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan got rid of Kohli to bag his first international wicket.

Ajmal's tricks against Dhoni and Raina, and the early run-out of Rohit Sharma, sent back by a direct hit from the deep, transformed India's game from one aimed at an aggressive charge to mere survival. India scored just one boundary in the last six overs, their early advantage was squandered and not even a dream debut that produced a spell of 4-0-9-3 could restore it completely.

India had great start in batting and bowling but failed to capitalize them….the y collapsed in batting and the later bowlers were not good enough to keep the pressure built by Kumar. On other hand Pakistan came back strongly from early jitters in bowling and batting. Pakistan kept their nerves and handled the pressure well…..shows again India's weakness in bowling and on other hand Pakistan's improvement in batting in pressure situation….well done men in green….keep up the tempo!!

Bogelking
on December 26, 2012, 2:58 GMT

It was a good game of cricket played in the right spirit. Pakistan deserves full credit for the tremendous comeback they made to the game, while India was rocketting to a score nearly 150-160, thanks to a strong foundation laid by the openers. No doubt that there are some good bowlers for Pakistan that they can easily recover from a precarious condition. So it is not that much surprising to anyone given the talent of the Pakistan bowling unit. The batting barring the openers from the Indian side was disappointing, but after all this is a game, and no one need to take this as a war of prestige. The friendly pat that Hafeez had with Ishant, who unintentionally ran into the way of Haffez taking a single was good to see. It was a good gesture from their part. All above this, amidst the dark clouds of defeat, the silver lining that we got was a memorable debut from B Kumar. It really underlines the fact that there is no dearth of bowling talent in India. Congrats Kumar Keep rolling!!!!!!!!

on December 26, 2012, 0:06 GMT

A great game of exiting cricket ebbing and swaying towards victory for either side. Nice to see some young cricketers blooded for their first indo-pak contest. Each team plays to its strengths. Indias bat deep policy does make sense as by posting a high score their average bowlers will get wickets through scoreboard pressure. Fail to score high and inevitably you lose. India need to consider playing another specialist bowler instead of a batsman. Pakistan policy of taking wickets has served them well since Imran Khans days. However their batting is brittle. Pakistan too often are 3 or 4 wickets down against swing bowling. Play forward and negate the swing. Stay on the crease and waft the bat you will be out again!. Still brilliant bowling by debutant Kumar. Pakistan fielding actually won this game ... that has to be a first. And they played with 6 specialist bowlers. Good contest by both.

on December 27, 2012, 14:50 GMT

Great game of cricket. Both teams played well. India a slightly better side, but Pakistan have two inings of 50+ and India have two innings of 40+. That was the difference between two sides.

WeeBee
on December 27, 2012, 10:46 GMT

A fabulous game between two cricket crazy nations! Two new talents came on the stream line ( Muhammad Irfan and Kumar). I am sure people of both countries are eager to watch next match and want to see both bowlers in action. I really have to admire the way Hafeez and Malik batted, they were extremely patient when kumar was in action and amazingly quick when indian part timers were tried.

on December 27, 2012, 10:21 GMT

same team pak for ODI,s also....No need for misbah to come in and occoupy the crease for more than 90 deliveries to score 44 runs,.....

I promise you that this team will beat india surely in ODI....but if you replace malik or afridi with mibah pak will loose definately

and one more thing misbah is almost 40 years now and not usefull for worldcup 2015 plz throw him out and get some one like umar amin or waqas ali in a new left handed middle order.

on December 27, 2012, 5:02 GMT

These useless t20,s should not be played at all, however i am happy ,that one bowler ,who is of a caliber to produce chin music in tests ,it would be great to see his bowling in SA upcoming tour, mohammad irfan should know concerate on line and length as bounce and pace is always there. Good world needs these cricketers, i really appericiate chin music producing bowlers ,but hate these t20 cricket.

Sir.Ivor
on December 27, 2012, 4:54 GMT

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who looks a right hand version of R P Singh in his pomp, showed the selectors that there is talent waiting to be uncovered. The doomsday prophets which includes even someone like Dilip Vengsarkar, have been trying tto convince us that the cupboard is empty. If the Selectors were to look seriously, they will find many young players who can make it big if they are given chances at a young age in one or the other format of the game. Shami Ahmed, A S Rajpoot and Ishwar Panday, all pace bowlers must be tried out at the earliest so that there is no over-dependence on one worthy or a group of them when they are not fully fit. Similarly there are a few good batsmen, wicketkeepers and spin bowlers who just have to be given their opportunities. Afetr all they need just 11 players to play in the team. If there are about 50 players who can be listed selections can be made for specific formats based on the strengths and eaknesses of individual players.

Raj12345
on December 27, 2012, 1:30 GMT

Why DK is overlooked for year after years. Why RG given N number of chances.

Imran-Akram
on December 26, 2012, 19:41 GMT

There were 2 main strategic blunders by dhoni & Co
1-they thought that Pakistan bowling is very strong so they packed their batting line up with 8 batsmen.
2- the other way round,they thought that Pakistan batting is very weak so they included only 3 front line bowlers (one of the was a debutant allrounder)
It is also a matter of fact that india has not a single bowler of the class of Saeed Ajmal, Gul, Irfan, Afridi and even hafeez and tanveer similarly Pakistan batting lacks the class of kohli, Yuvraj, dhoni, rehane but despite of that Pakistan managed to with this match

Player_007
on December 26, 2012, 5:06 GMT

India had great start in batting and bowling but failed to capitalize them….the y collapsed in batting and the later bowlers were not good enough to keep the pressure built by Kumar. On other hand Pakistan came back strongly from early jitters in bowling and batting. Pakistan kept their nerves and handled the pressure well…..shows again India's weakness in bowling and on other hand Pakistan's improvement in batting in pressure situation….well done men in green….keep up the tempo!!

Bogelking
on December 26, 2012, 2:58 GMT

It was a good game of cricket played in the right spirit. Pakistan deserves full credit for the tremendous comeback they made to the game, while India was rocketting to a score nearly 150-160, thanks to a strong foundation laid by the openers. No doubt that there are some good bowlers for Pakistan that they can easily recover from a precarious condition. So it is not that much surprising to anyone given the talent of the Pakistan bowling unit. The batting barring the openers from the Indian side was disappointing, but after all this is a game, and no one need to take this as a war of prestige. The friendly pat that Hafeez had with Ishant, who unintentionally ran into the way of Haffez taking a single was good to see. It was a good gesture from their part. All above this, amidst the dark clouds of defeat, the silver lining that we got was a memorable debut from B Kumar. It really underlines the fact that there is no dearth of bowling talent in India. Congrats Kumar Keep rolling!!!!!!!!

on December 26, 2012, 0:06 GMT

A great game of exiting cricket ebbing and swaying towards victory for either side. Nice to see some young cricketers blooded for their first indo-pak contest. Each team plays to its strengths. Indias bat deep policy does make sense as by posting a high score their average bowlers will get wickets through scoreboard pressure. Fail to score high and inevitably you lose. India need to consider playing another specialist bowler instead of a batsman. Pakistan policy of taking wickets has served them well since Imran Khans days. However their batting is brittle. Pakistan too often are 3 or 4 wickets down against swing bowling. Play forward and negate the swing. Stay on the crease and waft the bat you will be out again!. Still brilliant bowling by debutant Kumar. Pakistan fielding actually won this game ... that has to be a first. And they played with 6 specialist bowlers. Good contest by both.

on December 27, 2012, 14:50 GMT

Great game of cricket. Both teams played well. India a slightly better side, but Pakistan have two inings of 50+ and India have two innings of 40+. That was the difference between two sides.

WeeBee
on December 27, 2012, 10:46 GMT

A fabulous game between two cricket crazy nations! Two new talents came on the stream line ( Muhammad Irfan and Kumar). I am sure people of both countries are eager to watch next match and want to see both bowlers in action. I really have to admire the way Hafeez and Malik batted, they were extremely patient when kumar was in action and amazingly quick when indian part timers were tried.

on December 27, 2012, 10:21 GMT

same team pak for ODI,s also....No need for misbah to come in and occoupy the crease for more than 90 deliveries to score 44 runs,.....

I promise you that this team will beat india surely in ODI....but if you replace malik or afridi with mibah pak will loose definately

and one more thing misbah is almost 40 years now and not usefull for worldcup 2015 plz throw him out and get some one like umar amin or waqas ali in a new left handed middle order.

on December 27, 2012, 5:02 GMT

These useless t20,s should not be played at all, however i am happy ,that one bowler ,who is of a caliber to produce chin music in tests ,it would be great to see his bowling in SA upcoming tour, mohammad irfan should know concerate on line and length as bounce and pace is always there. Good world needs these cricketers, i really appericiate chin music producing bowlers ,but hate these t20 cricket.

Sir.Ivor
on December 27, 2012, 4:54 GMT

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who looks a right hand version of R P Singh in his pomp, showed the selectors that there is talent waiting to be uncovered. The doomsday prophets which includes even someone like Dilip Vengsarkar, have been trying tto convince us that the cupboard is empty. If the Selectors were to look seriously, they will find many young players who can make it big if they are given chances at a young age in one or the other format of the game. Shami Ahmed, A S Rajpoot and Ishwar Panday, all pace bowlers must be tried out at the earliest so that there is no over-dependence on one worthy or a group of them when they are not fully fit. Similarly there are a few good batsmen, wicketkeepers and spin bowlers who just have to be given their opportunities. Afetr all they need just 11 players to play in the team. If there are about 50 players who can be listed selections can be made for specific formats based on the strengths and eaknesses of individual players.

Raj12345
on December 27, 2012, 1:30 GMT

Why DK is overlooked for year after years. Why RG given N number of chances.

Imran-Akram
on December 26, 2012, 19:41 GMT

There were 2 main strategic blunders by dhoni & Co
1-they thought that Pakistan bowling is very strong so they packed their batting line up with 8 batsmen.
2- the other way round,they thought that Pakistan batting is very weak so they included only 3 front line bowlers (one of the was a debutant allrounder)
It is also a matter of fact that india has not a single bowler of the class of Saeed Ajmal, Gul, Irfan, Afridi and even hafeez and tanveer similarly Pakistan batting lacks the class of kohli, Yuvraj, dhoni, rehane but despite of that Pakistan managed to with this match

Punjin
on December 26, 2012, 17:48 GMT

A win is a win and Pakistan played better. I did not get to see replays of no ball called, little that i saw it showed batsman jumping to play shot.. which makes it a bad call. I hope to find replays to make a judgement for my own satisfaction.. He played the shot.. di'nt he?

on December 26, 2012, 17:38 GMT

Irfan is not the only class new fast bowler . We have sadaf hussain muhammad talha imran khan and ehsan adil . Watch out for them . If they all get chNCE we ll forget asif amir and shoaib .

Muzammil_Baig
on December 26, 2012, 17:11 GMT

Every time when Pakistan tours India, I always noted biased coverage of tv cameras. EVERYBODY will agree that NOT EVEN a single time the cameramen put the camera on the 3000 Pakistani spectators who traveled from Pakistan to India.

This always happened in past too. I remember that in 1999 when Pakistan won the triangular series in India, beating India in final. After the match, the Pakistani team when towards the stand where Pakistani spectators where there and thanks them bu raising their hands. EVEN THEN tv cameras did not put camera on them and we were able to listen just the noise of Pakistani supports.

basusri133b
on December 26, 2012, 16:34 GMT

Here in lie the cause for the failure of Indian batsmen in Test Cricket.

Every discerning follower of Indian cricket should closely review the footage of India batting in the 1st T20 vs Pakistan. ( available YouTube) The grotesque away from the body shots which is quite OK in this format, but disasterous in Test Cricket.

Players who are brought upon a diet of T20 and IPL format Cricket, are totally unprepared to play Test Cricket. Where the emphasis is on shot selection and slowly building us an innings by spending time in the middle.

India should ensure that our Test Team players do not play T20 cricket.

But, with the understandable lure of the huge sums of money in the IPl & T20, I guess this is not a realistic solution.

India is well on the road to being reduced to a second or third rate Test playing nation.

wasim_007
on December 26, 2012, 16:34 GMT

Afridi won for Pakistan...Afridi applied the brake and that was the turning Point of Match otherwise Pakistani have made it hard to chase 170+....they were even not able to chase a low total....Great..LALA keep it up...Please open the innings....mark my words this is the effect of great and experience man (Shahid Afridi)..had India played Sehwag India would have easily won this....as he could score 20-30 run and that give the vital dosage.....My Call Please OPEN WITH AFRIDI......

on December 26, 2012, 15:29 GMT

Watta Game...Good Show By Both Teams, Bowling of Pakistan Always have impressed but this time there batting did n outstanding JOB...Its hard to blv that Pakistan's Batting Handled Pressure. Job Well Done.
Indian Team Need to pull there socks and come back hard, they have a big advantage of Home Ground.
Best Of luck Green Machine's U need to be best to be out there Again.

Zahidsaltin
on December 26, 2012, 14:27 GMT

A new kapi Dev is probabely born in Bhuvneshwar Kumar!! His speed and swing is very similar to the great man.

on December 26, 2012, 14:15 GMT

Not having a regular bowler like Ashwin and depending too much on Jadeja cost us the match, apart from some irresponsible batting & running between the wickets by Gambhir [normally he runs out others and this time, he did], Rohit too slow to reach, Dhoni & Raina, playing carelessly, too much complacency. Some 2 palyers shud hv emulated Hafeez & Malik of Pak. Wish they learn as they hv lost 2 consecutive T20 matches in the last over. And Dhoni will never learn as he does not plan or strategise.

Mr.pPp
on December 26, 2012, 13:36 GMT

ashwin is a good and smart bowler, but guess he got complacent because it seemed his place in the side in all three formats became permanent due to lack of quality spinners in india currently, and that is why he has failed miserably for some time now. Its good that he was dropped, he has a lot to learn and he will.

and India should have selected Sehwag, has great record against them

anyway, congrats to pakistan, they played great cricket and totally deserved the win... from a huge Indian fan of Hafeez and Afridi...
but dont party too hard, we WILL pay back on 28th :)

on December 26, 2012, 13:26 GMT

what a performance by malik and hafeez....and hafeez as a captain is brilliant.... overall a great cricket match to see

on December 26, 2012, 12:11 GMT

Great game of Cricket...dominance of experience, talent and skills

SherjilIslam
on December 26, 2012, 11:25 GMT

@Farukh91, Keep Sachin away from all this stuff.He doesn't needs to prove a Pakistani that his height is nothing to do with the amount of runs he has scored around the world facing different pitches and different bowlers.And correct your facts...he is the one who invented the upper cut and hit some of the best fast bowlers(including shoaib akhtar) for six on the bouncers bowled at him.

Farrukh.91.
on December 26, 2012, 11:05 GMT

For those who are criticizing the umpire on the short ball, only 1 bouncer is allowed per over in t20s that sharma had already bowled when he took the wicket off the 1st delivery, so right decision by the umpire!
and do not forget if the height of the batsman was not to be considered, you Sachin wont have got this much runs.....

Samar_Singh
on December 26, 2012, 10:50 GMT

Good help the Indian Umpires .. How on earth that Malik was given out (later refered to be not out ) when a ball is climbing some 7 feet high , when there was already warning before for the height .. Could someone be so biased ? There should always be a neutral umpire in all format of games ...
one ex Indian cricketer turned commentator was saying that when Malik has played the ball with his bat there is no point of that ball being called a wide so that is a definite out, but he do not want to respect the fact that this was the second ball above shoulder height , infact over head height .. Is that any spirit of the game ?? pls bring some better Umpires for the next game ..

WickyRoy.paklover
on December 26, 2012, 10:44 GMT

@INDIA-NEEDS-BOWLERS,I GUESS LETS WAIT N SEE 4 NEXT 1 gud year,4 ur information many of ur felow indians were trying to equate rehman wid ojha n even more were placing average ashwin ovr magician ajmal n now u can analyse who iz way ahead of othr,I GUESS TIME IZ D BEST JUDGE SO LETS NOT SPEAK WID LOUDR MOUTH 4 NOW

on December 26, 2012, 10:44 GMT

Pakistan were lucky to win this. Though they have made a habit of making it look really difficult. They still did that yesterday when they were ridiculous while trying to make 16 of 19 balls.

Jahid.bdraj
on December 26, 2012, 10:30 GMT

Malik and Hafeez have made the difference. India has been outplayed by Pakistan in every department of the game.

Samar_Singh
on December 26, 2012, 10:20 GMT

It once again proved how innocent and lame is the Indian bowling attack. You cannot always expect to win matches just by batting. Non of the Indian bowlers looked like taking wickets apart from Kumar . How can Dhoni justify his selection of only 3 full time bowler ?? Can some one expect Yuvi/Kohli/Jadeja to take wickets on regular basis ?? All together it was a boring match for me , and not to my expectation .. Could some one explain me what Rohit Sharma is doing in the team .. He is only a good domestic player who has a good average just because there are no wicket takers in Indian domestic level ..he is not made for international circuits.

SherjilIslam
on December 26, 2012, 10:18 GMT

As of Md. Irfan.....only time will tell for how long he sustains in Pakistan team.Following are the reasons...
1. Age - Over 30
2. Fitness - Needs to be fighting fit
3. Sudden Popularity may take over his focus and will become complacent
4. Lure for money....needless to say the path which Asif and Amer followed.

Prabhash1985
on December 26, 2012, 10:06 GMT

Best of luck, Pakistan. I wish people go to Pakistan to play. May there be peace everywhere on earth.

rosh280
on December 26, 2012, 9:43 GMT

it was a great match but pinhopes there is a need of change in indian team at the earliest.i was telling about bhuvanesh kumar plenty of times everybody mocked. we should bring jalaj saxena, bhuvanesh kumar, r dewan, bd singh of jammu, mandeep singh, ashok menaria, murali vijay, deepak chahar, sudeep tyagi and pankaj singh , mrutyuja vohra
it is a great opportunity to try and test these players. good luck india. m

Malti65
on December 26, 2012, 9:39 GMT

@ CricketFan365 :- Yes I must admit that even i was surprised by the lack of comment by Siddhart about Mohammed Irfan. He was clearly the fastest guy on either side. Bowling consistently at 145 kph and that too by such a tall bowler, I think this guy will be unplayable. I think we will see more of this guy in the times to come.

on December 26, 2012, 9:39 GMT

One match is not enough to draw the final conclusion rather we must wait till the next few games are played. What I like that it was a tight match and a thriller one. Surely both the batting of Pakistan and bowling of its counterpart remains as vulnerable as always.

Malti65
on December 26, 2012, 9:35 GMT

Will ever Pakistan stop throwing surprises at India in the fast bowling department ? This time it was 7 foot tall M.Irfan. In S.Manjrekar's words durting the post match presentaton Mohammed Irfan's pace, agression & bounce rattled the indian openers, especially Gambhir and that prevented them from scoring more quickly. There-after with Gul, Ajmal, Afridi & Hafeez to follow, I did not have too many hopes. But also i must admit that I did not expect the kind of collapse that we witnessed in the famed indian batting line-up. Normally it is Pakistan who collapse like this. But the feather in the cap was the emergence of BHUVANESHWAR KUMAR as the best pacer in terms of figures on either side. Also he was more unplayable than his famed Pakistani counter-parts. However, we must also admit that India were lucky that surprisingly there was no dew during the last 10 overs of that game. Had that happened the game would have been over more quickly.

on December 26, 2012, 9:33 GMT

Ishant sharma's stupid act with kamran akmal was something shud not happen again ... it was a great game to see :)

waheed1233
on December 26, 2012, 9:25 GMT

Pakistan will not have to work hard to beat india, coz india isnt Bangladesh!

on December 26, 2012, 9:17 GMT

still cant uderstand why ashwin was dropped . hat were they thinking? . they should replace jadeja with ashwin if they want to win the net one . all credits to bhuvi and the indian team for the scare.

on December 26, 2012, 9:07 GMT

it was good match from both side.I am really inspire with the pace & bounce of M.irfan.He will be a future of pakistan.Rahene is a smart player.Nice to watch green shirts in india.Wishing a best of luck rest of the series.

mtalhas
on December 26, 2012, 8:54 GMT

Kumar is a fine bowler but lets see what his future will be bcz it has been seen that indian pace batteries drain quickly and are neither chargeable nor replaceable. For Pak, Irfan is good but he is already 30 and wont be able to serve much. His physique reminded me of Joel Garner although by talent Garner is unmatched in history, still Irfan's bouncers took me back to the 80s :)

on December 26, 2012, 8:40 GMT

Good to see pakistan gettting their batting sorted out because their batting is always being the problem. Unlike india or other asian countries their bowling always been their strong point.They could have been world best attack if Ammir & Asif not been guilty of bad activites.Ammir,Asif & Junid Khan bowling together will be very good watch.Any way the past is past & they should not want some body like Junid Khan & other young blowers to get into same controversy like Ammir or Asif.

Taha_Farrukh
on December 26, 2012, 8:34 GMT

Congrats for Pakistan & Pakistani's.... Inshallah Pakistan will white wash india in T2o & ODI's as well..... Best of Luck

CricketFan365
on December 26, 2012, 8:27 GMT

Just one line about Mohammad Irfan in the whole report? He could be the next big thing in world cricket. With his pace and bounce batsmen are bound to be scared of him.

V Kumer's control over the new ball is amazing. But will he be effective enough in the flat tracks? Only time will tell..

Lovetesh
on December 26, 2012, 8:21 GMT

Atleast India found one good swing bowler out of this match, that is a positive take away. Jadeja should have never played ahead of Ashwin that was a tactical error by MSD which costs the game.

on December 26, 2012, 8:18 GMT

Indians were dancing when they were facing Muhammad Irfan. The bounce and pace he has got when mixes up becomes a very powerful weapon against batsmen like Virat kohli, Yuvraj etc who are only looking for bowls outside off stump ptiching under their bat.

IndiaNeedsBowlers
on December 26, 2012, 8:17 GMT

@ WickyRoy.paklover - Just by counting names you cannot compare the batsmen in both sides. Otherwise we would also count the bowlers in our domestic cricket, with your bowlers. Admit it Indian batsmen are better, just like Pakistani Bowlers are better.
As for the match, I already said Pakistan played better cricket and won on merit.

VivtheGreatest
on December 26, 2012, 8:07 GMT

Part time bowlers are never gonna work on true pitches ,but again I dont expect Dhoni to admit that. Jadeja of course is not international class in any form of the game but he plays for the right franchisee in the IPL and so will retain his place as usual.

MukhtarEB
on December 26, 2012, 7:59 GMT

Hi for evreyone, the game was really great but the Indian team so need for king of bowlers Zaheeeer khan

stark-truth
on December 26, 2012, 7:59 GMT

India's defensive mindset causes it yet another loss. They were simply a specialist bowler short. Having said that, Pakistan's bowlers are world-beaters, and tightened the noose brilliantly around the Indians.

WickyRoy.paklover
on December 26, 2012, 7:57 GMT

@INDIA-NEED-BOWLERS,plz don't call ur batsmen great they r just above average...pak need awana to b playng in nxt matches so that they can post 170+ in next matches,lolz.

AVM3
on December 26, 2012, 7:53 GMT

Gr8 match...When pak lost 3 wkts I thought once again BCCI/Pak board or Dawood would direct them to get folded for around 100.
Dhoni should keep interest of team ahead of his liking for some players! Do you require 8 batsmen to play 20 overs?
Jadeja should give for Ojha who is a genuine match winner like Ajmal.
Rayudu shoud replace Gambhir/Raina. Dhoi might prefer Aswin, Jadeja and Raina as usal.

Gloroiouse day of cricket that was, Amazing display of mind battle. Boht team were playing to their strengths i.e Indian used their batting depth while Pak belived in their 0bowling. However two seamers were the higlight of the day.7.1 ft Irfan"the Great Khali" of cricketing world and the young sizzling B. Kumar.The delima of last over continues for India cost twice in a week and for Pakistan their vulnerablity to cope with seam and swing is big question marks. Fielding standerd was very improved from both side.

WickyRoy.paklover
on December 26, 2012, 7:33 GMT

No surprise at all while reading coments 4rm majority of indian fans,i mean not only dhoni but also his fellow nationals R terrible,obsessed with making lame excuses,now evrybdy iz havng a dig at their part timers bt delibretely wants to forget that dhoni was extremly insecure of his batng lineup against pak bowlng n hence was forced to play 8 battrs,MY MSG TO ALL INDIAN FANS:UR BATSMEN R NOT AS GUD AS U PEOPLE THINK,PAKI BATTRS R NOT AS BAD AS U WANT TO SEE OR THINK,WE R NECK IN NECK WID UR YOUNG BATRS,u have kholi,raidu,raina,pujara,rohit,rahane we hav azhar,asad,umar,shahzad,nasir,usman,haris I WOULD NOT COMPARE THE BOWLNG THOUGH LOLZ

Kushalagr007
on December 26, 2012, 7:26 GMT

Siddhartha Talya, next time before preparing a report for a match, you should watch the match carefully, Ajinkya Rahane was not caught at Third Man as your report suggests, he was caught at wide long-off( He was out upper cutting to third man in the game against england at mumbai). So please correct that.

on December 26, 2012, 7:23 GMT

Can anyone tell me what's the use of jadeja ?? y indian cricket board keep him at international level, why they call him as all-rounder.....funny....and about gautam gambhir , he play t20 live like one day match and worst fielder and need take to rest like his partner shewag, bring rayudu instead of him.

@andrew27994 , u r correct , banglore pitch offer more assistance to pace bowler but dinda couldnot use the pitch condition, i believe better awana would be a better call.

IndiaNeedsBowlers
on December 26, 2012, 7:20 GMT

This was a really good game. Pakistan played better and won on merit.
But India should learn lessons quickly. This is the second time in a row they have failed to defend a target. Against England they couldn't defend 170+ score and then they decide to play just 3 specialist bowlers. I think with all the money and highly paid support staff, a good captain (I know many call him lucky, but I don't agree with it. He is a good captain), a supposedly good coach and all, India needs somebody with common sense. We have the best batting in the world and still we need to play 8 batsmen for a 20 over game. And we have a weak bowling and yet we decide we can manage with 3 bowlers. BCCI please hire someone who can bring common sense to the team.

drnaveed
on December 26, 2012, 7:19 GMT

why no action was taken against ishant when he clearly and deliberately tried to come in the batsman's way ????????

Anand2kau
on December 26, 2012, 7:15 GMT

India are short of a specialist bowler by going with Jadeja @ 8, if they hesitate to bring back harbhajan then it is better to go with 4 seamers and Yuvraj like the 2006 pakistan tour, because pakistanis will be very comfortable with current indian spinners.

Siva_Cric
on December 26, 2012, 7:13 GMT

Bring back Ashwin..He has be out of sorts only in the last couple of T20 matches and he deserves a long rope considering his consistent performances over the last couple of years..Selectors should never lose faith on Kohli and Ashwin as they are players for the future and their temporary inconsistent performances shoud be over looked..Ashwin's batting is a big plus in situations like yesterday..He would have surely added 10 to 15 more runs..

abdubaba
on December 26, 2012, 7:07 GMT

I think Inzamam being the batting coach had an instrumental hand in the way Pakistan chased down the target. Inzamam stated when he was appointed the coach that mainly he's going to be focusing on the psychological aspect of batting, how to cope with different situations etc. and I think he's done his job here.

India seem to have found a Mohammad Asif in Kumar and finally Pakistan have a good pacer again in Irfan. Kumar and Irfan don't have a stellar first class record though unlike Sadaf Hussain (do a search). Still don't know why Sadaf Hussain hasn't been given an opportunity on the world stage.

Good job by the seniors! :D

mrmuqaddar
on December 26, 2012, 7:06 GMT

I think shoib malik and afridi should be in our ODI squad shoib malik is proper batsman who can play 50 over game.

wisdom350
on December 26, 2012, 7:05 GMT

absolutely great performance by pakistan!!!!!!!! go on and shatter their promise of A CLEAN SWEEP!!!!!! LONG LIVE PAKISTAN

M.Muneer5
on December 26, 2012, 7:01 GMT

WOW Friends! Pakistan done the job well.Hafeez and Malik save the match otherwise the scene was same of wt20 contest.well done team PAK

on December 26, 2012, 7:01 GMT

its funny how when india wins they trash all the pakistanis and when pakistan win everyone posts neutral comments . confusing .

andrew27994
on December 26, 2012, 6:59 GMT

And for the next T20I match, India should pick Rayudu in place of Gambhir coz I think Gambhir deserves some rest and play Awana/Ashwin in place of Dinda. Dinda was just too inconsistent even when the pitch offered so much assistance for the pace bowlers.

andrew27994
on December 26, 2012, 6:54 GMT

Those who are saying that Pakistan would whitewash India in both series (especially ODIs) could be wrong. Though India are currently weak in Tests, they have a decent team for T20s but an excellent team for ODIs. Their ODI team is their most balanced of all especially because most of their players are very experienced. If the right bowling attack is selected from their current ODI squad, I think India could win the ODI series convincingly. But Pakistan have a good chance of winning the series too because they got some exciting additions to their squad like Haris Sohail, Azhar Ali and Nasir Jamshed.
For Pakistan's next T20I series, I would suggest they select Farhat because he is in excellent form at the moment.

mtalhas
on December 26, 2012, 6:51 GMT

keeping aside the good cricket played yesterday, the best part for any team is to see the reaction of the indian crowd when an indian bowler is hit for a boundary or an indian batsman gets out. The so called spirit of the nation is reflected in this way and this happens in every stadium of india. the time malik hit the winning six, there was "deadly silence" in the words of ramiz raja.

adeelqadri
on December 26, 2012, 6:45 GMT

A great game, loved the roller coaster of game shifts... hafeez kept his cool and stayed at wicket, needless deliveries waisted by kamran akmal under pressure, Malik always effective against india. B kumar bowled really well, but only effective with new ball, still to see how he performs at the death overs. Irfan, two years back against Eng, hardly reached 80 mph, today clicking 90 mph continuously with control. old times Pak fast bowling back. Rahaney another rising star for India..

andrew27994
on December 26, 2012, 6:39 GMT

Fantastic match and a great cricket pitch. Congrats to Pakistan especially for their fight back with the ball and in the field. India's biggest mistakes were in the last 7 overs where they aimed too high but ended up with a paltry 133-9, and the biggest mistake from Dhoni was when he gave the ball to Kohli. Pakistan were reeling at that stage. If Dhoni had brought his go to bowler (Yuvraj) at that stage, Pakistan would have self- destructed but those valuable 2 overs took the pressure off the batsmen, especially Hafeez who has been short of runs. I think the latter mistake, i.e the decision to bowl Kohli was India's biggest mistake. This will be a good lesson to be learn't from Dhoni. Also good to see the 2 debutants M.Irfan and Bhuvaneshwar perform so well on debut.

WC2011Champs
on December 26, 2012, 6:37 GMT

Not whining about the result. But cricket umpiring and some of its rules are becoming crappy. Really crappy. Was it Shoahib Malik who got caught by Jadeja of the bowling of Ishant? How in the world is that a no ball? If batsman lets it go and the ball is as high as it was then calling it a no ball makes sense. If the batsman played the ball (jumping or climbing on a ladder) like Shoahib did he is responsible for scoring runs off it and/or getting caught off it. Umpires have no business to make a call. Why would umpire or third umpire figure out batsman's height and the ball's height?
This is not the case of a ball coming at batsman's waist or higher without pitching.

SherjilIslam
on December 26, 2012, 6:37 GMT

Well it seems like dhoni has lost all his luck that is being replaced by a bagful of excuses.Following are my observations....
1. One pacer short.Must play whoever is available
2.Replace jadeja and Ashwin....both are medicore.
3.Bring in Sehwag and Harbhajan as Sehwag is the serial tormentor for pakistan irrespective of the format and bhajji at least knows how to bowl in depth overs.

Hope to see a better performance in the next game.And Bhubhneshwar Kumar....Man you have arrived!!! From an Indian.

on December 26, 2012, 6:33 GMT

great match. cricket is winner. irfan has great future if he keeps fit. good luck to B Kumar. This was the match of these two bowlers. India can not win on batting alone, India has many bowlers, where they are?

on December 26, 2012, 6:33 GMT

hi dear how are you that is a good played to you yesterday l love to you and salam to all team players. i give you suggention to all plyers please you play with honety and win to all game. l love pakistan l love cricket

tell me how many batsman/bowler has been playing consistently... Gambhir has been playing itsy/bitsy innings for too long and no one questions.. Kohli feasts on flat tracks and fails repeatedly against stronger teams in good pitches.. no one questions... Ishant takes wickets once in a blue moon and no one questions.. Jadeja/Chawla has never played a decent innings or bowled decently and still they get selected repeatedly... then why is that some failures of Ashwin gets highlighted repeatedly and being blasted out like this.. and that too he didn't play at all yesterday... still so many comments could be seen firing at him.. I mean its absolute rubbish that Dhoni favours CSK players... my goodness, just one player (Ashwin) is in Indian team and such a comment.. mind you, Jadeja played for other teams for 3/4 years... Ashwin is talented and a big full stop.. and soon he would be meet the same fate like TASekhar and Robin Singh, who never got the nod in spite of real talent..

gustakhcricketer
on December 26, 2012, 6:21 GMT

Indian players can play well only in IPLs and at times they can play better at home against Australia, England...But Oooppss England just smashed them with test series so i guess this is over for india..not only out of india but even in their back yard..:)...well played green shirts...keep up the good work...

Bay-Lagaam
on December 26, 2012, 6:21 GMT

Wow.... That was a fear of the gr8 Paki Bowlers that made indian selectors play 8 Batsmn instead of a regular bowler..... but all failed coz bowling was too lethal to handle... specially Raina & Dhoni's dismissals shown tht they had really no answer of Ajmals doosra

ticktac
on December 26, 2012, 6:20 GMT

When Dhoni will understand importance of specialist bowlers regardless of the format of the game. India fielded only 3 bowlers. although yuvraj is better than a part timer in T20 and had a off day,there was no way India was going to win this one with likes of jadeja and kohli's bowling. game was over once kumar had finished his quota.

cric_mojo
on December 26, 2012, 6:17 GMT

Amazing how Bird's, Pattinson's, Starc's come out of Aussie Bowling closets & for a grand board as BCCI, its MI4 to pull up couple of decent pacemen spinners.. ... while Dhoni XI represent the on-screen failures.. .their behind the scene administrators/selectors should share the blame & resign.

on December 26, 2012, 6:15 GMT

India is back on the losing track once again.. It was nothing more than an after shock of latest test and T20 debacle against England. Guest would certainly enjoy the benefit of Indian psychological collapse...

Ali.Mirza
on December 26, 2012, 6:15 GMT

This thriler win against India not possible without the help of Almighty ALLAH.
Further its great acheivement for Pakistan. So, congragulations to whole nation of Pakistan and Players as well.
A big salute to Muhammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik for beautiful innings.
Now wait for untill next match.

matchfixerpkn
on December 26, 2012, 6:06 GMT

well played pakistan..but dnt take too much..
both teams once agian failed agianst avarage pace attack also srilanka in australia..sad to see still no one from sub continet dnt know how to play fast bolwer..not fast mediam pacers !!!!
...both irfan and kumar are good bowlers but not good as what we foiund yesterday..its jsut bcos subcontnet players have no clue on pace bowling so they got it....
if the oppsiton waas england,australia the story may be differentn

on December 26, 2012, 6:04 GMT

Amazing, as no body is talking about Irfan ... the 7"1 gaint, frightening and quick... I was never a great fan of this lad but yesterday he certainly surprised me like other when he bowled at 145 kph consistently ... just imagaine some of irfan's height delivering the ball at such pace .. getting the tennis ball bounce on not so lively surface is a treat to watch and vouches a promising career ahead ..

WickyRoy.paklover
on December 26, 2012, 6:00 GMT

No doubt kumar was gud but in the long run irfan would prove bettr bcoz of his height,pace .we hav junaid,anwar,zia.ul.haq,irfan so its about time that these shoud b givn a long run intrnationally

on December 26, 2012, 5:58 GMT

Muhammad Irfan will kill them with Short Balls. They are tooooo weak to handle pace and bounce.

RISHI2016
on December 26, 2012, 5:58 GMT

the worries would continue if dhoni would not decide against his own insecurities.. rohit a man who can do good in tests is at t20s ..wherein raydu who is an excellent cricketer wid brilliant cricketing sense sits back... time to know who r horses for courses...or does dhoni knows he has a competitor in raydu (gloveman in t20i) that he ignores players liek raydu and uthappa.. (p.s i am from jharkhand and nt an SI)

on December 26, 2012, 5:56 GMT

last game was totaly as expected....i mean nail biting thriller as we all do expect from an indo-pak game...everyone was infront of tv last nite i guess...so in the end, the team who played well last nite actualy won the game...and my fav player got some runs after a long time...yes am talking about malik...and for india.....please stop relying on just batting, u do have some of the best bats in the business but dont ignore the bowling..u can't win the matches with part timers...cheers.

on December 26, 2012, 5:55 GMT

Achievement for India is New Pacer Kumar! he is just awesome... all the BEST for B. Kumar. \m/

Sagitarius1
on December 26, 2012, 5:48 GMT

Well done Pak!!!!
We want to see u handling pressure is such situations

SpeedCricketThrills
on December 26, 2012, 5:47 GMT

There was nothing wrong with team selection - when you have 20 top players, it doesn't matter which 11 of them play. Jadeja being asked to bowl the last over was a mistake, although it is doubtful if Yuvraj could have avoided being hit.
Also, heavens haven't fallen for Indian fans to punch Dhoni - sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Cricket fans in India will get excited if Pak wins a few matches so that the intensity of the rivalry gets stronger. Right now the intensity is not great as it used to be.

on December 26, 2012, 5:39 GMT

fantastic game of cricket.well done soaib

soumyas
on December 26, 2012, 5:39 GMT

India deserve to loose until they play highly favored Jadeja. until doni favors his friends this will be the fate. they should have even dropped dhoni to make gambhir or kohli captain. playing ashwin and Rayudu or S.Dhavan.

on December 26, 2012, 5:30 GMT

This match shows that Pakistan have a complete discipline side by showing sprite in fielding , bowling and calculate batting. Although new debutante Kumar shows excellent reply but this only first match his swing bowling is only need an attention by the Pakistan batsmen in upcoming matches. Where as Pakistan debutant Irfan admire swing of sultan Wasim Akram that this person will create a great difference in the serious.

on December 26, 2012, 5:30 GMT

@Shaeen Shilongtownboy: I doubt India thought they would ever beat Pakistan easily, they have never thought that. India only beats Pakistan in World Cups..period and is easily the mentally stronger team and 'usually' pulls through in death situations.

cricloverr212
on December 26, 2012, 5:14 GMT

Good win by Pakistan. I think after series with England and Pakistan, Indian players must prepare a strategy for IPL's next session... Cricket is all about IPL for indian cricketers...

FARRUKH800
on December 26, 2012, 5:14 GMT

Good cricket all around fullfilled with action, drama, thriller, and fight back. Pakistan won coz thy were diserving winners, but indians should not blame dhoni. No dought he is good wicketkeper and entrertaining bat. This is just badluck not poor captaincy. Butt one thing to cheer for india that they have founded an imprassive pacer Kumar.

anver777
on December 26, 2012, 5:11 GMT

Experienced Malik had always scored heavily against Ind.... so it was good move to select him for this series... & it will be a big boost, if they pick him for ODI's !!

on December 26, 2012, 5:09 GMT

Pakistan for the first time showed a responsible game. It does not matter if it was 12/3 for any team but for Pakistan it was almost the end of the game but the 2 giants performed very responsibly and took it till the end. Hope to win the next T20 as well to give a clean sweep In sha Allah. Pakistan Zindabad!

Aaranya
on December 26, 2012, 5:05 GMT

Dhoni's playing XI is just disgusting. The three regular bowlers gave away just 58 runs in 12 overs. The part timers Jadeja, Kohli and Yuvaraj gave away 75 runs in just 7.4 overs. Rohit should have been dropped and Ashwin should have been in playing X1. Eight batsmen, though on paper as Jadeja and Rohit does not qualify to be called as batsmen, in T20 makes no sense.

on December 26, 2012, 5:05 GMT

@ProdigyA

Well actually if those Indian umpires were good enough they would have noticed how Malik was jumping in the air while playing the shot and called it not out in the first place. So yes, the referral should not have been required in the first place.

on December 26, 2012, 5:05 GMT

Well played Pakistan.It was a hard fought game of cricket.Decent show by debutants...In the end, it was character of Hafeez $ Malik which won the game for Pakistan....

Bestof Luck team green for rest of the tour,,,,///

on December 26, 2012, 5:03 GMT

certainly a very good game of cricket! I would give credit to the excellent fielding of pakistan and the calm and cool heads of Shoaib Malik and Hafeez. They were outstanding. Kumar was outstanding and a great find for India and as a matter of fact i think he should also play tests. It was also a good comeback from India when pakistan were cruising needing 16 off 18 balls but ishant and dinda bowled really well and it was an excellent cool head from shoaib hitting the winning runs for six.

on December 26, 2012, 5:03 GMT

What happened to the $ 2 million man, R.Jadeja, DHONI's bet? What was his contribution? I do not understand why he has been selected again and again!!

on December 26, 2012, 5:01 GMT

Well said Raju Terabaap, I think India was overconfident that they can beat Pakistan easily. What India shouldn't forget is that Pakistan is an A side and can be as dangerous as Australia or England when they play well. The question of when to expect the Pakistanis to play well? well I don't know, but here's is my 2 cents India, "Expect the unexpected" going forward!

muhammmadomer66
on December 26, 2012, 4:59 GMT

Well Played Pakistan.....Now We Have To Win The T20 Series....

satish619chandar
on December 26, 2012, 4:58 GMT

Malik jsut loves India. probably that's why he married a Indian girl. Great innings from him. India should be happy that they carried the way till the last over. Missed a extra bowler. I would have preferred jadeja but would have played him ahead of Rohit. Jadeja at 8 is a weak bowling attack. Yuvi is in awesome form but still, can't be banked on everytime. That too against SC batsmen. Pick in a spinner and not a part timer at 8. if Ashwin is not good enough, pick Chawla(On whom the selectors have unconditional faith for no reason.)

on December 26, 2012, 4:52 GMT

Great game Pakistan, congratulations. I think shoaib mailk should have been the man of the match not hafeez or it should have been awarded jointly to them....

on December 26, 2012, 4:51 GMT

a gud game of cricket...Pak raised the std of their fielding and i think ind did well to try and defend a low total...young kumar can really swing it big time...reminded me of m asif the way he used to set batsmen up to get them out...but i expect ind to come back strongly...overall the game was being played in great spirit until ishant kamran incident...i mean the way afridi and yuvi had smiles after that 6 flwd by a dot ball and then the hafeez collision with ishant that ended in a friendly pat...i think its time for the fans to grow up and act maturely...players frm both countries are generally gud friends...as wasim mentioned that it is always easier to interact with indian players bcz they understand ur language ur culture..same is for Pakistan players..i just hope that the spirit of the game remains good .. both teams will win against eachother a lot ov time b4 we die and will lose a lot ov times so no point in bragging arnd.. well plyd Pak & gud luck ind..with lov frm Pakistan

on December 26, 2012, 4:47 GMT

I am Afghan but watching such kind of match was very interesting for me. I have been watching and playing cricket for twenty years. but the problems are still in these two team. Pak has to provide good batsman if they want to win match and IND hast to find good pace bowler to win the match and this problems has been seen for long time in cricket team.
I wish if this three countries( Afghanistan, Pakistan and india) have one tringular t20 cup in the future.
Afghan national team is capable to play well against Pakistan and india.

AkDoN
on December 26, 2012, 4:46 GMT

@ SL fans commenting against IND...see ur performance in 2nd test vs AUS just 156 all out shame on you guys.....learn test cricket first. BTW congrats to PAK team they were better side on the day....I love Kumar's spell excellent show of swing bowling. Thrilling match Best Luck IND for next match

srinideva
on December 26, 2012, 4:46 GMT

he is back. Guess who???
Sir ravindra jadeja...i request everyone to give respect to this wonderful all rounder..man!!! he did it...

g.narsimha
on December 26, 2012, 4:42 GMT

Well played PAK-if this momentum is maintained i am sure we must prepare for another white wash , in fact at present any team can beat our team , i cant understand why DHONI given bowling to VIRAT & JADEJA in just 4 overs these players conseded 50 runs , while we are defending only 130 , we have so many BHUVNESH & RAHANES but the problem is our bcci ,

wakaPAK
on December 26, 2012, 4:41 GMT

I love this new Indian kid; he's a gentleman cricketer; when he bowled Jamshed, I was wowed by him and above all he carried himself in a very peculiar fashion on the ground unknown to Indian cricketers; I hope he stays there for India.
What's with Ishant.. lol? He cannot intimidate any batsman, his voice is funny. I guess he's taken the Indian commercial 'Ziddi hai toofan hai' literally... which again is the funniest commercial I've ever seen.
Lastly, Muhammad Irfan, I didn't know he can clock in 140s regularly. Oh my, if he stays fit, he could be destructive.

flavoidastic
on December 26, 2012, 4:40 GMT

I think this result was expected..Pakistan side is better stacked than ours..Had it not been for B Kumar it would have been an easy ride for them..BUT I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE PAKISTAN FIELDING.. ALL THEIR THROWS WERE ON TARGET!! They were never that good a fielding side..seems they have improved on this area!! Expecting Yuvraj to bowl against Pakistan would be too much.. with the kind of bowling India has, the only score with which India would be comfortable is around 200!!

Quddus-Mamu
on December 26, 2012, 4:40 GMT

Indian players are not working hard before IPL season. Who is going to take the risk to get injured and lose big money? ! IPL has really destroyed Indian cricket, no doubt about that.

Fayyaz01
on December 26, 2012, 4:34 GMT

You won't able to improve the result until you understand why you loose.Dhoni, You were not 10 to 15 runs short, you were one bowler short.

on December 26, 2012, 4:32 GMT

why not take Sandeep Sharma..He is geniune swing bowler and move both side...Bhubaneswar and Sandeep will be both dangerous for against team..please selectors think about for future..

on December 26, 2012, 4:30 GMT

i m sure that paistan will white wash india

drnaveed
on December 26, 2012, 4:25 GMT

why ishant sharma was not given any punishment by the match referee,? as he clearly and deliberately tried to stop the batsman mohammad hafiz from taking a single by coming in his way from nowhere. was the match referee sleeping ??????.secondly for his misconduct with kamran akmal,as he started it .

Abid75
on December 26, 2012, 4:24 GMT

Well done Pakistan, But Pakistani team should work on their batting against swing bowling. Indian team well played. We witnessed good T20 match.

on December 26, 2012, 4:19 GMT

Actually I don't understand why Dhoni likes Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin so much !!! I am sure Ashwin will be back in the next game. In a good fast pitch Awana should have been given one more opportunity to prove his mettle. I also don't understand why Jadeja was given the last over to bowl when Yuvi had one over left ? Also Ghambir should be dropped he is too slow, he has lost the technique and timing. Why bowlers like Bhuvneswar Kumar took so long to make an entry into the Indian team ? Selectors please pick the right team !!!! Dhoni should stop picking his chennai IPL players and should give others players a chance. Jadeja shoud be thrown right away from all formats !!!

Amit_My_Fake_Name
on December 26, 2012, 4:17 GMT

Congrats to Pak & especially nice game for hafeez & malik ............. as an Indian I hope B Kumar will show consistence performaces ...... wish him good luck..!
& dhoni grow up... when openers performs & others fail then..... "we were 10-15 runs short"..... but when openers fail.... well you never miss a single chance to criticize them...... so just grow up...!

on December 26, 2012, 4:12 GMT

good game i loved it but i think india might have learned their weak points and they will prepare well for the upcoming matches of the series

on December 26, 2012, 4:12 GMT

India is missing Irfan Pathan. He was the right guy for these conditions i am sure that he will be call very soon in to this searese.

on December 26, 2012, 4:08 GMT

Yours days has gone dhoni. Its folly to play Without Specialist spinner in India VS pakistan, i bit i can play better role than jadeja in the team.

on December 26, 2012, 4:00 GMT

India need Sehwag,Yousf & Harbhajan back in the team. Neither i Nor anyone other can understand why is joker(jadeja) in the team?

on December 26, 2012, 3:55 GMT

What a great win by Pakis -:- Malik played outclass game. Hafeez getting amateur cricketer day by day. Indian spin sucks.Honestly i did not expect this much from Gul & Malik. Pakistan has an upper hand now But Indian always have the ability to come back. Kohli will be the key in next game. Wish we will have another great game.

ReverseSweepIndia
on December 26, 2012, 3:54 GMT

Congrats to Pak. Match as expected turned out to be thriller, and its beauty of Ind-Pak series. Both teams are in transition period with Pak has more settled look at the moment. It was heartening to see that best display of seam was from an Indian in the match. We can't produce fast bowlers like Pak (look from where they got Irfan, this guy gonna go big with his height, pace & swing). We shld just concentrate on good, yes good bowlers, who can swing both ways at 135. Combined with strong batting we will win more than we lose. Though right now even batting is low in form, but they still have lot more fire power in batting. And people pointing towards Ish-Akmal conflict, these are the things which make these matches tense. But poor from Ishant, no abusing mate, kids watches you. Other than that it was good to see harmony btw the teams. I remember Afridi collecting in his followup and tried to throw back at Yuvi who has to duck and crouch away. This was followed by smiles all around

Dreamscrapper
on December 26, 2012, 3:53 GMT

Excellent performance by Pakistani middle order and bowlers. I hope they'll this tremendous form throughout this years BPL too! And India must be more conscious about their team selection. Pakistan's team seemed a lot balanced and skilled than India.

on December 26, 2012, 3:53 GMT

t20 & ODI both series can win PAKI becoz they have world class bowlers . on the other hand india have a very weak bowling side . batsman r also not clicking againest the PAKI spin n pace.

on December 26, 2012, 3:52 GMT

Must credit pak players they bowled and batted very well! India may have lost the match but shown great fight even though scored low runs, hoping for a turn around soon. and should play atleast 4 pure bowlers.

SaadRocx
on December 26, 2012, 3:47 GMT

Those who are saying that M.Irfan was amazing are completely out of their mind. He bowled at a pathetic line. legsidish and way too short and bowls so many wides and gave legside legbyes aswell with no swing,he needs wo bowl at offstump chanel orwicket to wicket and he,ll get extra bounce with that height.otherwise he could get hammered in next game. to be honest afridi and sohail didnt bowl well,i reckon pak,s fielding + gul and ajmal,s spell saved the day for us. I think Kumar is a great find for India...

on December 26, 2012, 3:40 GMT

Game is so enjoyable n great to watch ok India lose but they tried hard to comeback on the match just 133 its not so quiet comfortable target.new guy absolute brilliant bowling I m too happy with performance of Indian team and best wishes to them

on December 26, 2012, 3:36 GMT

The Main Heading is not correct "Malik seals thriller for Pakistan" since the last over was given to Jadeja, there was no more thrill there. When Dhoni decided to give the ball to Jadeja for the final over, the game was completely given to Pak. Still this Dhoni Trust on Jadeja and Keeping Aswin out. Irfan pathan/ Yusuf pathan/ Shewag should come back to T20.

coppyshoppy
on December 26, 2012, 3:35 GMT

Jadeja is the worst thing to happen in Indian cricket. Useless fellow. Plays yearly one innings. Throw him from internationl team. let hin play ranji and other domestic matches and score 300 or 400.

aativas
on December 26, 2012, 3:34 GMT

I am glad that for this loss at least no-one can blame Sachin - which is the latest fashion in India!!

sandy_bangalore
on December 26, 2012, 3:19 GMT

EXCELLENT umpiring from the Indian umpire. I saw the various post match analysis and Bhogle, Gavaskar and all other experts clearly said that only one bouncer per over can be bowled, and Ishant clearly bounced malik(he met it at over head level). GREAT to see non-partisan umpring and such balanced analysis by our ex-India cricketers!

Adeel9
on December 26, 2012, 3:17 GMT

Ravindra Jadeja sure has some strong connections in the board and the team management.

Manu_reddy
on December 26, 2012, 3:14 GMT

Its so sad to c no 1 has given comment on kumar..well friends india might have lost d match but show some respect for good performance friends...when it comes to kumar he really bowled smartly n d way he swung d ball with such control was amazing..this man has good future as bowling allrounder as he can bat too..

Manu_reddy
on December 26, 2012, 3:08 GMT

Well played pakistan n also india...but am so happy for d way indian fast bowlers bowled..kumar was impressive n both dinda n ishanth were good n had india played 1 more extra specialist bowler then result would have been different..
Indians can take heart from of this match as they showed good fight while defending small score with not so experienced bowling line up..... i hope indian batting ll click in next match n they make it 1-1...all d best team india...

crick_wizard
on December 26, 2012, 3:03 GMT

@crindex..either you are Ravindra Jadeja..or you have absolutely no idea about indian cricket...

manav599
on December 26, 2012, 2:58 GMT

You have your arch rivals at home, full crowd support, both openers scored 40s, debutant opening bowler had figures of 3/9 in 4 overs. If you can't win a T20 International with this, you better quit playing Internation Cricket. Just go back to IPL. Not many will accept it, but everyone knows it, the IPL has ruined Indian Cricket. There have been enough warnings and losses and now BCCI really needs to think whether they want profits for short term or save the Indian Cricket (or whatevers left of it). With Sachin already gone and cricket being played the way it is, I guess I'll have to quit watching India's Matches.

crick_wizard
on December 26, 2012, 2:57 GMT

why on earth did india go with just 3 regular bowlers..and what is the need for 8 batsmen in t20? if 7 cannot do the job, then definitely 8 cant as well (especially if the 8th happens to be jadeja)..as was shown yesterday...does dhoni seriously believe that jadeja is more capable than ashwin? i am not saying that india would have won for sure if they had another specialist bowler, since the damage was done when the indian batsmen collapsed..but india are not helping their cause one bit with their strange selection policies...winning and loosing is part of the game and fans can understand that..but what is totally unacceptable is the biased selection, favoritism, and personal egos which has been a huge factor in india's failures of late..

surepush
on December 26, 2012, 2:54 GMT

Wel played pakistan, Irfan is good.

For India I can make a guess, Dhoni will play same 11 next match to prove his point .
my suggestion Maybe if he feels Ishant & Dinda do not bat then bring in Rayudu who is a better keeper & batsman , dhoni can bring himself as a bowler.

It was good begining for B.Kumar, I hope he keeps bowling the batsman then taking wickets by catches, because after some time Dhoni will start to think for the bowler & start to maintain the defensive field setting as he did for harbhajan & Ashwin, more recently after two matches to Ohja. so the bowlers will only do containment and do not take wickets

getsetgopk
on December 26, 2012, 2:52 GMT

Well nothing has changed here, the Indians will get a game every 4 years in WC's and in between that we will continue to put them in their place. The Kumar guy was good but with that speed, he's just another praveen kumar. Irfan is the real deal though. Congrats Pak!!

Akhter786
on December 26, 2012, 2:52 GMT

i dont know why people post derogatory comments against their opposing them and even if their own team loses. India Pak audience and fans will never grow up!

that really sucks, enjoy cricket friends dont drag silly and impertinent things in the playground, wars are to be fought in the war field, in a cricket field it should only be cricket
i hope no one wastes his money just to go to a war when it is just a game,,,,
same for players especially Ishant Sharma

balajit
on December 26, 2012, 2:45 GMT

Poor batting in the second half of their innings cost India the match Apart from poor bowling by Jadeja & yuvraj, too many loose deliveries on offer! Bad selection to go in without specialist spinner

Bhuvaneshwar kumar is a good find! Hope he is handled well, not treated the way Irfan pathan was or advised by so called experts

Indian batting needs to fire if India has to have any chance in upcoming matches. Also what was noticeable was that the umpires were overawed by the occasion & players. Shows the quality of umpires we have at domestic level. Why cant we have good quality umpires groomed at domestic level before putting them for international duty?

jimbond
on December 26, 2012, 2:36 GMT

B Kumar has shown the selectors' fault in persisting with tried and tested failures. I hope they also test out both Sandeep Sharma, Ishwar Pandey and particularly Rishi Dhawan in this tour, especially on pitches that have a bit of movement. In normal times, you may wait for a Ranji player to show consistent performance for two to three years before you get them into the national teams, but these are not normal times. The only good pace bowler that you have (Yadav) is injured, and most of the others at the national level (Ishant, Dinda, Mithun, Vinay Kumar) are pretty useless. No harm in taking a risk at this time.

What is it about Dinda- reporters often state that he 'bowls his heart out' but why isnt he able to find swing in conditions where others do? Ishant does seem to swing a bit (more as compared to what he used to do) but his seam position is like beginners.

Naeem578
on December 26, 2012, 2:34 GMT

Awesome display of real fast n furious bowling from M.Irfan. He is definately one for the future if he keeps his fitness. Congrats to professor and his team. Captaincy was superb, bowling changes and field placings were excellent. Job not over professor keep it going for the next match.

RK.Chandru
on December 26, 2012, 2:28 GMT

Ishant's behavior was atrocious. Let him just concentrate on his bowling and try to impress with it. It was very, very nice to see our arch rivals back playing in our country again and his senseless behavior didn't go well with the mood. This was needless Ishant! `wish, u concentrate more on your bowling than on antics like this. You first learn to bowl 140+ consistently and then do all this. No Indian would like this. Wish the board disciplines the players like Ishant fittingly and suitably. In contrast, pakistanis behaved well and were enjoying the occasion more. It's after all a game! You win some and lose some (read as, many on current form). Our team is in a transition phase and we're yet to find and settle with replacements for the retired stalwarts. In this process, we're bound to lose many. Let the fans and the media too have some patience and allow the selectors and board to experiment and find the right teams for all the formats. Let's no expect overnight miracles.

Missing from this report is the impressive debut of M Ifran. This could be the start of a very promising career. Also the stats box above is missing the one noball by Sharma.

pak78
on December 26, 2012, 2:19 GMT

congrats team pakistan i couldent ask for a better present this xmas.. i wonder whos 6 was better morgans or maliks or which hurt india the most or in terms of pressure whom held its nerve better im sure every one will agree with me that it was maliks.

on December 26, 2012, 2:19 GMT

Congratulations to Pak for their excellent win. Good performance from their bowlers as expected. Their new good irfan is Pacy and can be a major asset. As for our Indian team I dont understand the hype being a batting team as most of the batsmen like Gambhir,YuVi, Rohit and even Raina will not make it to international team. To hide that their fallacies they picked 8 batsmen. India was lucky today that they got 12 overs from their regulars bowlers. With this bowling line up even if we have defend 190 we will be needed to be lucky. Shame on Indian Selection. In T20 Sehwag sitting and Gambhir playing is a joke..

TNAmarkFromIndia
on December 26, 2012, 2:12 GMT

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the PUNE WARRIOR, impresses on debut! If we had another specialist bowler, we would have won the match. It was a ridiculous decision fielding only three specialist bowlers. You can't expect Yuvraj to do the job every time.

WickyRoy.paklover
on December 26, 2012, 2:11 GMT

No doubt kumar was gud but in the long run irfan would prove bettr bcoz of his height,pace .we hav junaid,anwar,zia.ul.haq,irfan so its about time that these shoud b givn a long run intrnationally

sukku88
on December 26, 2012, 2:10 GMT

Wow...!! Can't believe our bowlers can put up such a fight..!! Good game... Had the indian batsmen played little more sensibly, results would've been definitely different... Way to go B.Kumar.. This is why we need to give chance for youngsters... There are abundant talent in our country which is not handled properly.. We should learn from SLC...

on December 26, 2012, 1:34 GMT

India was accused that they don't care for Test Cricket, and interested only in the other forms. Now, the team will convincingly prove that the critics are wrong, by showing that we are equally poor in the short forms too, in producing results.

KiwiRocker-
on December 26, 2012, 1:32 GMT

Just continuing from my last post: Pakistan needs to draft Khurram Manzoor in their ODI as well as T20 squads. He is a technically correct batsman unlike an utter failure like Umer Akmal. Pakistan has already wasted a wonderful batsman Asim Kamal who had 8 fifty plus scores in test matches including scoring in India as well as in Australia but was still never given the proper chance. Khurram Manzoor is relatively younger and deserves a chance. On a seperate note, Match referee should take notice of Ishant Sharma's antics. This match means a lot for both nations as cricket has always been used as a carrot and stick by th politicians on both sides and accordingly Ishant should be penalised for such a poor behaviour. His attempt to get Muhammad Hafeez run out were rather negative to say the least.One can understand he was desperate but both teams played in good spirit and characters like Sharma should be cautioned against such behaviour! He should work on his bowling rather than mouth!

theswami
on December 26, 2012, 1:30 GMT

Ashwin instead of Jadeja & Rohit Sharma's off-spin is as good as a regular bowler's.Dhoni should not now, not ever let Kohli bowl.

on December 26, 2012, 1:30 GMT

Good game . Enough twists & turns. Like the good old days of Indo-pak cricket. Let us not forget it is a game and not war. Let us enjoy it. Some goodwill to boot.

47 runs in 46 balls is not good even for an ODI. Let alone for a T-20. That too losing 9 wickets. But the other side of the coin is where we should give credit. Impressive bowling and excellent ground fielding and throws by Pak players.

Bhuvanesh looks an excellent prospect. Looks, the right hand version of Irfan in his early days. Hope he doesn't go the Irfan way. Depends on how we handle him.

India was one bowler short. Ashwin in place of Jadeja is just a thought. But Ashwin is not bowling well either, and his fielding is inferior. So can't blame the tour selectors. Chawla would have been easy meet. Awana is not yet ready. Who else is there.

Hafeez-Malik pair showed the importance of partnerships even in T-20s. But, then Rahane- Gauti also showed it. But those who followed, the openers lost their way.

Enjoyable !

KiwiRocker-
on December 26, 2012, 1:28 GMT

I am less than impressed how Pakistan chased this low target. B.Kumar is in mould of Parveen Kumar and he looked handy swing bowler in very helpful conditions, however, he is just a friendly medium pacer who has got nothing special. On other hand, Muhammad Irfan has definitely done something and was definitely the quickest bowler on show by miles. Nasir Jameshed has been consistent so cna be forgiven for a rare failure. Ahmad Shahzad got a rough decision, but Umer Akmal needs to be dropped from all formats. He has pathetic technique and an utter failure.K.Akmal atleast has worked on his wicket keeping but Umer Akmal has no place in team. Pakistan's ODI squad looks good with Azhar Ali, Younis and Misbah in team with good techniques unlike Umer AKmal who as Basit Ali recently said has to learn how to play.Pakistan is wasting a wonderful talent named Khurram Manzoor. A fine batsmen with correct technique.He needs to be brought back.He has six 50's in 14 test and ODI, what else you expect?

on December 26, 2012, 1:24 GMT

I'm from BD. I hv watch & enjoy match between India vs Pak yesterday. Wow Very competitive match until end waiting for result. Small score also India fights till last moment that's nice. We hope to see next match also will be more competitive. Between Yuvraj and Afridi play one another and lough enjoy that's good sign. I wish to see till complete the all matches nicely. Everybody loves the cricketer regardless which country you are! We missed S. Tendulkar. He is Genius

Desihungama
on December 26, 2012, 1:23 GMT

Ishant! What was that? The batsman has every right to within the guidelines inform the umpire of a potential No-Ball. And did I just witness crowd leaving the stadium around 17th over? That's just sad and uncourteous. I bet most got their monies worth around the world. You don't see this everyday.

KiwiRocker-
on December 26, 2012, 1:21 GMT

The credit goes to excellent sensible cricket by Shoib Malik and Hafeez. I have never been a huge fan of Shoib Malik as he had lost his consistency and was involved in several other distrcactions. However, Shoib Malik has one thing in him and that he always performs very well against India. He has phenomenal record against India. It is bit like salman Butt, who had like 5 ODI hundreds against India.For me another key moment was Muhammad Irfan taking Kohli's wicket. Kohli not only weant cheaply but he looked rather clueless against pace of Irfan. Good sign!Credit also goes to Saeed Ajmal who was at his best in this game. B.Kumar had a good game from India's point of view, but one should note that Pakistani top order has flawed techniques. Umer Akmal is not fit for international cricket and Ahmad Shahzad though looked good but had a rough decision by umpire.Having said that. B.Kumar is useful however he is very slow operating in Mid 120's.He will do well on seaming wickets and thats all!

SrUmpire
on December 26, 2012, 1:12 GMT

Congratulations pakistan, well deserved victory! I'm an indian fan, but I want Pakistan 2 win all the matches. I want all the visiting teams to beat this team badly. I want a whole sale change in attitude of the players and administrators.

defflounge
on December 26, 2012, 0:46 GMT

As many of us said, May the best team win. cool-it guys, its just a game.

on December 26, 2012, 0:45 GMT

I am not criticizing India, but they are always over ratted, I heard Gangulaly on Sky Sports saying that India have better record against Pak, I think he needs to revisit the stats, India Record against Pak. 48 Wins while 69 Wins for Pak in ODI and 12 wins for Pak while 9 for India in Tests, In T20 they played 4 matches, 1 Won by Pak, 2 by India - 1 Tied. I don't see a comparison, Pakistan record against India is great, its only WCs they need to make a win.

SunnyD
on December 26, 2012, 0:17 GMT

I don't why some comments are talking about great Indian batting line up. Let it be clear that Indian batting is not great these days.

Al_Bundy1
on December 26, 2012, 0:07 GMT

This game was lost by India's batting. B Kumar bowled very well. How does Pakistan produce so many fast bowlers? India would willingly pay millions to get a bowler like Guldozer or the new bowler Mohammad Irfan.

on December 26, 2012, 0:05 GMT

Shoaib Malik deserved man of the match. Hafeez scored 4 more because he batted earlier than Shoaib, but Shoaib was the finisher. In the game of nerves, it is the finisher who is the match winner. All others are as good as Misbah.

heathrf1974
on December 25, 2012, 23:50 GMT

Not a lot to lose in this series except bragging rights.

on December 25, 2012, 23:41 GMT

india lose coz of poor captaincy and poor team selection

on December 25, 2012, 23:39 GMT

i dont understand Indian team selection , why they keep on picking jadega again n again when he is of no use n becoz of him india lost two main matches of WC T20 09 n 10 , Yousuf pathan is far more better choice in t20

on December 25, 2012, 23:39 GMT

I am from Pakistan and i really hate when people start blaming IPL for all the failures of Indian Cricket team. I think IPL and other such Leagues are a perfect opening to earn money for many many people, At the end of the day its a business , just like FOOTBALL in europe . So guys please stop blaming IPL for everything !! INDIA 's problem has always been .. their bowling .. they depend too much on their batting strength.
In INDIA every one wants to be like Sachin , they dont have ang role model to become a bowler... (quote Ganguly/ Waqar)

on December 25, 2012, 23:30 GMT

A great debut by kumar..ball of the year probably to dismiss umar akmal..how ever it was just pakistan's day..great knock by the captain..and a tremendous finish by malik..even if india play 7 bowlers..they still can never defend a low total..their bowling is even weaker than bangladesh atm..they only thing that can make them win matches is their batting which luckily collapsed today..

on December 25, 2012, 23:22 GMT

Thanks Misbah if you was playing that match ..India must win.Well Good game of Cricket, Kumar is future ...i think india well come back got 5 wickets ..brought a small total to last over. At last Hafeez strike rate get better than Ashwin....India missed the misbah..

zarasochozarasamjho
on December 25, 2012, 23:20 GMT

As a Pakistan supporter, I am glad Pakistan won. Pakistan is a better team because of their bowling. Currently India is weak in both departments. However, Pakistan is even worse in fielding, although they fielded well in this game in spite of Kamran Akmal being in the team. The Akmal brothers are a drain on Pakistan, and Umar Akmal can only function as a lower order batsman as he is a hit or miss batsman. One reason why India lost is lack of a specialist bowler to cover the 5th bowling position. Why does India need so many batsmen in a T20?

Typical Pakistan show no surprises :) Whenever there is a good opening partnership they collapse and fall short .. but when they start with a collapse they recover it well at times :)

Usman_Jilani
on December 25, 2012, 22:59 GMT

Well done Pakistan for batting under pressure. Indian team also played well. Great game of Cricket!

shot274
on December 25, 2012, 22:51 GMT

Great display by pakistan. T20 is such a lottery though; Still worried about Pakistan batting. Kamran Akmal 6 and Afridi 7. Not sure we need 6 bowlers in a 20 over match. Having said that if one is 77-0 and with 8 batsmen end up making 133 im not sure team selection really matters. If a few fire for any team theyll win on the day.

haq33
on December 25, 2012, 22:46 GMT

Dear Juggy Singh, if that is your real name, seems to me that you are sounding a bit sore. You congratulate us on our 1st T20 victory against India. Did you forget the single-handed demolition job by K Akmal in the World T20 warm up match in Sri Lanka? It is actually all square in T20 matches overall, don't even look up the ODI's or tests as it won't make for pretty reading.

200ondebut
on December 25, 2012, 22:45 GMT

Winning against India always gives a false sense of self worth. Nice to see Pakistan are backing themselves to win.

on December 25, 2012, 22:42 GMT

One things I noticed about Indian fans; they are simply the Monday morning quarterbacks.

intrepid_khan
on December 25, 2012, 22:30 GMT

guyz ...this is the best you can get !! what more one can expect out of a t20 match ... it was a close match in the end so cheers to both teams ... and congrats india on finding a swing bowler finally :)) and to Pakistan on finding yet another pace sensation who is going to be unique bc of his height !!! CONGRATS to both teams and fans ... hope to see another cracker of a match on 28 :) love from Pakistan !

dushank
on December 25, 2012, 22:28 GMT

Well-done Pakistan. As a Sri Lankan I'm with team Pakistan during this series and you can show your real colors in the next few games...! Go Pakistan Go smash 'em....!

Cricket_Fan_And_Analyst
on December 25, 2012, 22:28 GMT

Congratulations Pakistan on beating India for the first time in T20 matches. I am sure it will be first of many to come because Pakistan is a competitive side.

Lets see what happens in the next T20.

cric4world
on December 25, 2012, 22:26 GMT

@ManmeatDikxhit ... wat game did u watch? ishant should b happy about getting hafeez's wicket becoz that looked like a no ball as well. he played infront of his face n he was atleast a few inches of the ground n no ball for height rule says a batsman standing on ground (not flying in air). n then he had the guts to sledge kamran akmal look at the replays again n u will see who started it n ishant was just too aggressive. not appreciated

Cricket_Fan_And_Analyst
on December 25, 2012, 22:20 GMT

India is missing Irfan Pathan. He was the right guy for these conditions and would have played the role of all rounder to the perfection here.

JChandi
on December 25, 2012, 22:09 GMT

Well played Pakistan, you can win this series easily.

on December 25, 2012, 21:59 GMT

Team India!! IPL has destroyed Indian cricket badly and here is the results..cheers..

liaqathussain
on December 25, 2012, 21:57 GMT

good win for pak, but their batting nearly imploded towards the end,

great start for kumar,, impressive bowling
pakistan need to work on thier tempriment

india have long suffered the lack of a quality all rounder who can balance the team that cost them,

on December 25, 2012, 21:51 GMT

Malik should be in the ODI squad now he has proved it

on December 25, 2012, 21:50 GMT

Just like WASim Bhai said, if 7 batsmans can't bat, how can u expect 8th batsman to perform.bad decission, should have played extra bowler.Moreover, one can not expect Yuvi to do good against Pak. because we all know how Indian and Pakis play spin.

ProdigyA
on December 25, 2012, 21:46 GMT

The Indian umpires were being too nice to the visitors. Malik was out and heights are never refered to the third umpire.

Mudassarali1990
on December 25, 2012, 21:44 GMT

Go Green Go! What a win from Pakistan, from no where (12/3) they produced a victory for the nation on Quaid Day.Well done m.Irfan. Pakistan is gonna rock India in this tour. I tell you what more the bowler friendly wickets more chances for the Pakistan to demolish India, as Indian players are heroes of only flat pitches.
Ishant show your skills by your performance not by abusing opponent players.
Overall was a quality game of cricket and enjoy it the most.
PAKISTAN is gonna rock ... Green go ahead ...

RajuTerabaap
on December 25, 2012, 21:39 GMT

India's team selection sucks, who the hell are this guys you selcting, what happened to Irfan Pathan he is suppose to be the best all rounder India Has an you select looser like Jadeja who just lost the game for india, Jadeja need to go home and rest bring back the Pathan Bros' he is they are the kryptonite to Pakistan, you need to have them to beat Pakistan.

Pak_Fan86
on December 25, 2012, 21:35 GMT

Juggy Singh, i totally agree with you. It's just a game. We should take just like a game. I know its Ind VS Pak and i know emotions are a lot different in ind pak clash, but grow up guys its still just a game and we are supposed to enjoy it. Feels great that we won that after winning posting such comments is quite silly really. A request from all Paki fan to take this victory in a good manner. You never know what's gonna happen in next game, it could still be 1-1. Indian bros, your team also played well!

ToTellUTheTruth
on December 25, 2012, 21:34 GMT

What is appaling is the lack of technique from batsmen on both sides. It was painful to watch Indian batsmen, bar Rahane, and all of Pak batsmen bar Hafeez. Shoaib and Afridi completely forgot the basics of batting. What is happening to the renowned technique of subcontinental batsmen?

@Juggy. Cheers for the good wishes and I hope, you ask Indian fans to show some restraint as well. Cricket matches between India and Pakistan are always unpredictable, which is why it's so great to watch. Good luck to both teams.

on December 25, 2012, 21:26 GMT

Awana should not play for india , he's rubbish ,

on December 25, 2012, 21:22 GMT

Kudos to both teams. Cricket matches between India and Pakistan are always exciting. Enjoy the game in the sprites folks and don't be petty. There will be some individuals who will try to spoil the occasion, but it's best to let such people. Cheers.

JG2704
on December 25, 2012, 21:18 GMT

Well played both sides. Like the India/Eng game both teams showed brilliance and flaws in their game in this seesaw game and actually quite strange how both games finished with similarly directed 6s. Honestly thought India were looking like prevailing once Hafeez went as Akmal looked awful. Good day's entertainment

on December 25, 2012, 21:15 GMT

@ManmeatDikxhit....Kindly start understanding spirit of the game in a logical way...In the Akmal...Ishant Clash who was at fault?? Try to get it dude it was Ishant who just wanted to catch some attention which he could not grab through his bowling. If he was annoyed at kamran akmal inquiring the Umpire about the no ball Dismissal of Malik then for your kind information it was his right and this is why third umpire has been brought to cricket. Grow up please and start respecting others!!! Except that It was an exceptional game of Cricket..Whole World would have enjoyed the quality of cricket on display but surely this can be seen easily that none of the two teams is entirely balanced. But while saying that everything goes a side when an Indo-Pak clash is going on..Its about how both teams cope up with pressure and today Pakistan managed it..India may do it next time and we would respect their victory in the spirit of game and if Pakistan go on and win it we would celebrate. Go Green Go

JG2704
on December 25, 2012, 21:10 GMT

@Aussiesfalling on (December 25 2012, 17:54 PM GMT) TBH the T20 rankings are so unsettled no one should read too much into them. On Sky they said India would have gone number 1 in T20s had they beaten England so the margins are so small.

SaadRocx
on December 25, 2012, 21:10 GMT

That Kumar guy reminded me of Wasim Akram for a moment...and was that dismissal of Ahmed Shehzad even Out??? i want an answer...

on December 25, 2012, 21:04 GMT

Congratulation Pakistan..........

on December 25, 2012, 20:59 GMT

Congratulations! both team played well but one have to win the game. Pak team wishing you all the best...

on December 25, 2012, 20:54 GMT

Its just a game people. Ya'll dun need to get overly aggressive on a comments page of a website. Still if u choose to be lyk tht, i will flood this page aftr the nxt game which India will win. Gud game, congrats on ur 1st t20 win against us, bt even after winning dont be losers. Gud luck.

on December 25, 2012, 20:53 GMT

Many Grew up watching cricket between India and Pakistan. This is what thriller is about, this is the competition where both team plays at best of their levels naturally. Regardless who won today, it is amazing to watch these two team play against each other!

theRule19
on December 25, 2012, 20:47 GMT

Dhoni should replace Dinda with Awana and give him a go by telling him to bowl full and straight targeting the stumps and let the ball do its bit by pitching up which was something he didnt do against England but he is only learning and with experience, will do good..Clearly saw the Pak. team vulneable against the swinging ball. Had no clue to the swing of the debutant B.Kumar. Dinda bowls too short at times and with his pace he will concede lots of runs and is often wayward as well. Ishant barring his first spell was quite effective in the second spell and it would have been interesting to see how the Pak. batting would have done had there been a pace bowler to spare in the end rather than Jadeja.

Thilakraju
on December 25, 2012, 20:45 GMT

India mis 4th bowler today that y they lost, ashwin should be the one , he is the partnership breaker, Yuvi , koli and jadeja gives 75 runs for no wickets i think ashwin should be replaced to rohit or ishanth or jadeja

on December 25, 2012, 20:45 GMT

Why is Ravindra Jadeja playing for India ? Dont we have a better all rounder !! Whatever happened to Irfan Pathan.

Can India seriously think about dropping Gautam ? I dont see him adding any value at the top. He must be a permanent bench warmer

Prakmca
on December 25, 2012, 20:42 GMT

What made Dhoni to give bowling to Kohli ahead of greatest allrounder Jadeja??
Why he is in the team? He ran out Rohit, else India could have managed to get at least another 10-12 runs more. Jadeja had no clue against the moving and seaming balls. Time to think and act.

After seeing Kumar's bowling today, what made selectors to include Awana ahead of Kumar. Awana one of the worst bowler to figure in international matches.

Herath-UK
on December 25, 2012, 20:42 GMT

Congrats to Pakistan for a good win.Sri Lanka remains the top T20 team for 2012.Good to see Pak is climbing up the tree now.
Ranil Herath - Kent

on December 25, 2012, 20:36 GMT

WOW' lucky win for Pak. but can not believe the amount of pressure, look what happen to Indian batting and then Pak. almost followed.

It was a good contest.Both teams played well.For India Kumar bowled marvellously and Rahane batted excellently and non other showed any class.For Pakistan Hafees and Malik did the job.he played innings of a captain.I am impressed with the bowling of B.Kumar.Best of luck for future.

on December 25, 2012, 20:17 GMT

India needs to play Pakistan a lot more to wake them up from sleep. Their standard fell when they stopped playing Pakistan.

bobmartin
on December 25, 2012, 20:10 GMT

Heartiest congratulations to Pakistan on a tremendous victory. Yet another home series India will fail to win and another nail in their cricket coffin. Can it get any worse ??? Wake up BCCI, and ask yourselves why you are currently the laughing stock of the international cricketing world. Once you recognize that you have a problem, then you might do something to put it right. Whist you continue to emulate ostriches and bury your heads in the sand, Indian cricket is dying... You may have power, but you have no respect.

on December 25, 2012, 20:07 GMT

my poor indian fellows please absorb this defeat. u were not in the game since u were batting. we brought u into the game..u came close to last over just because of our mistakes. otherwise u r not a big team to beat. u r the team which can be beaten by a young english side at your own soil. now be ready fo the next match too

Stark62
on December 25, 2012, 20:07 GMT

@Neil Robinson LOL

Your just angered at the fact, that Ajmal annihilated Eng in the UAE!!

If he really did chuck during his doosra, then why are soooo many batsmen struggling to read him?

Also, the current Pak openers are fine and will perform much better in the next game.

Lastly, what does Samit Patel have to do with an Indo-Pak match?!?!

Amjad.Zork
on December 25, 2012, 20:06 GMT

well done Pak boys... we beat Indian team inside India....

Quddus-Mamu
on December 25, 2012, 20:04 GMT

Low scoring match. Looks like both team forgot how to play T20 cricket.

on December 25, 2012, 20:00 GMT

Great show by Pakistan in the end. Malik has given himself another life-line with this performance. Frankly speaking, he should never have been in the side in the first place-- his match-winning innings notwithstanding. He has been poor over the last 12 months and the selectors have been over-generous to him. I still think he is playing in the side at the expense of a young batsman who may go on to play for a long time.

What Ishant did was disgraceful. There are 10 year old's that watch this game as well. Some of these guys in the Indian time have a confrontational attitude. You can see them swearing and using the B-word. Akmal had a right to call for a review as Ishant had already bowled one bouncer in the over and was not allowed to bowl another. Whether rules allow for a third umpire review is another story. But in the end, justice was done and the right decision was made. I would expect action taken against Ishant, and AKmal be reprimended by the captain for following suit

on December 25, 2012, 20:00 GMT

@ManmeatDikxhit

oh come on. it was clearly Ishant's fault and you are blaming Akmal for that? How dare you? Chouri upper say seena zoori...

And I think Pakistan Cricket Board should complain to ICC against that umpire for not giving it a no ball in the first place.

on December 25, 2012, 19:57 GMT

Some polishing up to do with the top order batsmen but overall great win by Pakistan. It was enjoyable, exciting, interesting and thrilling to watch till the end. Pakistan bowled and fielded brilliantly and then experienced hafeez and malik's superb partnership shut india Out of the match rightfully. Next match i want to see Pakistan hammer india and win comfortably to take series 2-0 In Sha Allah !

PAKISTAN zindabaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad !

on December 25, 2012, 19:55 GMT

Ist off all thanks to almighty Allah For this victory
Some are saying Pak was lucky and India will play with a regular bowler in next match and etc and india is going to win easyly. They don't know India is not playing with Zimbabwe or Bangladesh or Netherlands. This is pakistan who rip u today and going to rip u in next games also. New boy kumar bowled very well but where are the other bowling squad from India. India has no bowling attack. Indian bowling is rubbish. Their batsmen don't know how to play English bowlers and they r talking about Pakistani bowlers. Watch urs elf ist and then put finger on others.

on December 25, 2012, 19:54 GMT

I have seen some INDIAN friends complaining about the decesion agains Ishan Sharma But he bowled a bouncer to hafeez before in the same over so he could'nt bowl one more to Malik!

on December 25, 2012, 19:54 GMT

Good game. Tomorrow's chip wrappings.Well played Pakistan but Ajmal still is a chucker - that Doosra of his cannot be bowled. It has to be thrown - not his fault - but ICB's for giving in over the Murali issue. Pakistan - both your openers still look fragile. Would like to see Patel in England now - would be an interesting early season / green top bowler for, say, Gloucestershire or Worcestershire: flat, dry wickets may be different

mukesh_LOVE.cricket
on December 25, 2012, 19:49 GMT

dhoni is a good captain and a an excellent batsman in limited overs , what he is clearly not is a test class batsman ... and as for his captaincy i don't think anyone can do much better with the kind of bowling India has at present ! and for 2days match , yes he made a mistake of going in with just 3 specialist bowlers

on December 25, 2012, 19:48 GMT

Great match all round, whoever is criticizing Umar Akmal and Nasir Jashed, i think they are done by a quality bowling of the debutant, i think for India, Kumar and Rahane was good, and apart from that nothing special, i personally feel Rohit Sharma and Jadeja should not be in the team, as they does not look like international player's, Malik was outstanding, and Hafeez shows how to play a inning under pressure, GO GREEN GO ......

on December 25, 2012, 19:48 GMT

ICC should ban bowlers with more than 6'6 height, mohd irfan got huge bounce:). Just kidding:D

on December 25, 2012, 19:42 GMT

Pakistan deserved to win after recovering from 12/3.Hafezz and Malik played well.

on December 25, 2012, 19:35 GMT

@Mwaqqar.. both descions were right. A front foot no ball is still called a no ball even if the batsman plays it for six. All no balls are same. 2nd bouncer in an over or the first one too high is regarded as no ball. in this case this ball was also a no ball whatsoever because of its height.. in hafeez' scenerio it was the ball hitting the thigh pad.. in that case it was neither out nor wide

on December 25, 2012, 19:35 GMT

the only way to teach bcci and this non performing team a lesson is by boycotting the upcoming IPL as much as possible by both of the indian media and people.,you will see some magical changes in the whole system,in the last 4 years of IPL indian cricket has never been benefited by any means none of the performing cricketeris given by IPL , even the people who were performing good for the team has been retarded in thier performances now for example sehwag, gambhir, zaheer, irfan, r.p singh, harbhajan, MS dhhoni,uthapa, rohit sharma, praveen kumar, ishant sharma its been a long list.they were all great performers before but now as they are getting enough money and fame from IPL doesnt matter if they are performing or not ,so they dont care much about the national team,.as money and fame both are prime things for anyone in this world. this all is happening because thier is no one to ask these questions to BCCI even not the indian government and the largest democracy such a shame.

on December 25, 2012, 19:27 GMT

@MWaqqar well i cant believe that a person commenting on cricinfo is not aware that a bowler is allowed only one bouncer an over above shoulder height in t20....and if he bowls another one it will b called a no ball.....and sharma was already called for one for the over when he got the wicket of hafeez.so 2nd one had to b a no ball.

on December 25, 2012, 19:27 GMT

India Just needs to understands that this is not a WC game. Hurrah, :)

Shouldas-Wouldas-Couldas
on December 25, 2012, 19:24 GMT

A typical "India vs Pakistan" game going to the wire with fortunes fluctuating !
Team Pakistan were impressive with ball containing the finest batting line up. India blew up an excellent start by their openers.
Barring the debutant Kumar, Indian bowling was simply mediocre, worst seen in decades !!!! Make no mistake, NO ONE CAN KEEP ASHWIN OUT at present ( and he contributes with bat as well ). Ashwin could ve scored those extra 15/20 runs that India desperately needed to defend !
Now that the monkey is off their backs, Pakistan have a realistic chance of white wash.
Go Paki, ya beat !!!

on December 25, 2012, 19:23 GMT

Ishant Sharma you are disgrace on the name of spirit of the game

Baber_Baloch
on December 25, 2012, 19:23 GMT

Always it,s proven Indo vs Pak match more than any team.....good game by boht team,,,congrats to PAK team...PAK bowler and batsman done the JOB...Ajaml you prove again.,,Hafeez ,Malik gentle Innings.,,Pak Captain gave nation gift of match on special day,, Quaid-e-Azam Birthday.

on December 25, 2012, 19:20 GMT

finally seen a good match after long time...it does not matter who wins, finally a gud cricket seen..

ManmeatDikxhit
on December 25, 2012, 19:20 GMT

Very lucky for pakistan. India came so close with only 3 specialist bowler in the team. Next game India should play Ashwin for Gambhir and open with Kohli; that should win them the game easily. Also people should stop pointing fingers at Dhoni. He is still the best option for India at the moment. I also think that the match referee should question the umpire for Malik's no-ball decision and Akmal should be fined and suspended for trying to spoil the game with his attitude.

mazii
on December 25, 2012, 19:17 GMT

I think Dhoni knew what he was trying to do. Given the struggle of Pakistani Batsmen against a good swing bowler, he included B. Kumar in the team and left some grass on the wicket. B. Kumar bowling was exceptional and he could be a prospect. But the thing amazes me the most- as a Pakistani though, a little biased though- was Virat Kohli's batting against Irfan. Irfan wasn't appreciated much in here. Even though no Indian batsmen looked comfortable against him. It is too early to say anything big as of now. Dhoni is a master of excuses and he depicted his mastery in the post match ceremony. India came back well, but in the end it was the matter of one good partnership. Well don Pakistan and best of luck to both teams for the next nail bitting encounter. Ishant sharma's sledging was not good but it was expected in the Indo-Pak matches. Cheers and enjoy cricket.

@ Mwaqqar: That was the second bouncer in the over... He already got Hafeez out with a bouncer in the first ball...

immi2711
on December 25, 2012, 19:14 GMT

From a Pakistani Fan ::: Indians....will you guys calm down. One game and all you guys are like (maiia lug gai). They had Pakistan on the ropes, A ball here and there and game was all over. Look Dhoni has his faults, he is definitely going thru a rough patch, but in the world of cricket, he is hands down, in the top 5 captain, and he is probably in the top three caps behind Dravid. I predict India is going to come out swinging in the 2nd T20, and win it easily.

For Pkaistan... count your blessings to come out of this game ahead, because we almost lost it in the 10 overs. What in the hell is Ahmed Shehzad doing in the line up, I can count 5 players who are hands down better with bat and ball. what the hell is wrong with Nasir. If Pakistan won today, it was clearly for there fielding..

Silverbails
on December 25, 2012, 19:13 GMT

Well done, the Pakistan team!! A superb victory, well earned. Pity none are in this year's IPL. Another pathetic display from such a weak and talentless Indian team. Perhaps they can now ONLY play Bangladesh and Zimbabwe AT HOME to try & win something, ANYTHING, @ cricket!! So sad and disappointing to see...

on December 25, 2012, 19:12 GMT

Everyone can hold on to their suggestions as if they matter anyway? But it was a great game and both sides had their advantages and disadvantages, but the best side won. Its funny how some of you think that result would be different had there been an extra specialist bowler, I bet you were dreaming....
GREAT GAME OVERALL!!!!

on December 25, 2012, 19:10 GMT

A roller coaster with a happy ending for us Pakistani fans!

Great cricket from Rahane, Hafeez, and Malik with the bat, Gul and ajmal with the ball,; but the standout performances whereby the debutants Kumar and Irfan. Kamran Akmal did not disappoint all his critics by playing the most thoughtless innings ever (in a bid to make Pakistan lose when the target was 16 runs in 18 balls) after a very unakmal keeping display. ndian selection was subpar, the camaraderie between the players (Akmal-Sharma) not withstanding was par excellence.

on December 25, 2012, 19:09 GMT

Dear Indian fans I know your ego hurt today, but dont forget you been crushed by England just last week. So Suck it up Pakistan won and take i like a true sports lover instead of wining and complaining about .

May The best team win and Pakistan was the best team "Today"

on December 25, 2012, 19:08 GMT

This is not the Pakistan we know. They didn't feel nervous at all. What a change. I think this could be a start of new era in India Pakistan cricket rivalry. Usually in India Pakistan contest, the nerves get the best of the captain plus at least one other Pakistani player. But this was different. And well fielded both teams, specially Pakistan for the run outs.

on December 25, 2012, 19:07 GMT

The score was so small, that Pakistan should have won it easily. But they almost lost it. Jadeja needs to be thrown out. Bring back Bhajji & ndia's lucky charm Sreesanth!!

on December 25, 2012, 19:04 GMT

what is ishant sharma thinking of himself such arrogance.first respect opposition u r not kid plz understand that he is representing india the people who watch the game doent know any one expect playing 11

Hash_Tag
on December 25, 2012, 19:01 GMT

How many more defeats are we going to have to endure....? For all of our obsession with T20 cricket - look where it has brought us. Nowhere. Well played Pakistan. Ajmal just too good for us. Questions need to be asked and answered. Who is our BCCI answerable to....? In my business results are everything. But here when the BCCI deliver loss after loss - heads do not roll. WHY----???

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 19:00 GMT

I think Sri Lanka is the best place for India to play than their home soil. They completely outplayed both Pakistan & England at R.Premadasa stadium. But against both teams, struggled on their home soil.

on December 25, 2012, 18:59 GMT

Well done team Green and specially Muhammad Irfan ... what a pick ... the height, the length and the pace ... great to see such pacer in green :)

on December 25, 2012, 18:59 GMT

great game of cricket....looking 4 more nail biting contest

on December 25, 2012, 18:57 GMT

well common how can you play with 8 batsmans in t20 its been the most surprising decision i have seen really, and then he should have bowled 4 overs of ishant sharma also on the trot ,,,,,, ridiculous captain-ship and disgusting team management decision, the BCCI , selectors , coach and captain has gone nuts ,it seems no one is capable of thinking how to solve the past mistakes and pursue the success, i have been never that much annoyed by the stage of indian cricket, well i cant understand national team is not performing at all from last 2 years or so ,i mean after the world cup and authorized people like sirinivasan , sanjay jagdale and rajiv shukla are still more worried about how to make the upcoming IPL successful and to make it commercially hit, well how much more money this BCCI needed can some one answer me and what they have done except the snake on the own wrist of indian team The so called IPL. nothing has been done for the sake of indian team. may god bless all of them.

on December 25, 2012, 18:57 GMT

Was treat to watch, it was an impressive win for Pakistan

crindex
on December 25, 2012, 18:56 GMT

Ashwin would not have fielded as good as Jadeja did saving atleast 10 runs there. And Jadeja does not crumble under pressure like Ashwin does. Ashwin is a big talker with brittle ego. We really miss Bhajji in this hour of need. Damn you Ashwin. You are neither a bowler nor a batsman. Somewhere in the middle...

on December 25, 2012, 18:56 GMT

I really cant understand the logic of playing 8 batsman in a T-20 game.....Or we tend to believe that our super batsman cant even bat for 120 deliveries.

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 18:55 GMT

With this defeat, Indians are not dominant on their home soil with respect to T20 matches. 1. Lost one off T20 against England(Oct.2011) 2. Lost to NZ 0-1 of two match series- one match was rain affected(Sept.2012) 3. Tie the series with England 1-1 (Dec.2012) 4. At the moment behind with Pakistan 0-1 (I feel they should go with a more specialist bowler who can bat. I don't know what is wrong with Irfan Pathan. Valuable asset in shorter formats)

MWaqqar
on December 25, 2012, 18:55 GMT

Umpiring not top class.
1. Hafeez was given not out caught behind but then the ball should have been a wide.
2. How can a ball be given no ball for height when the batsman has played it. A ball may be wide but if the batsman reaches it then it is not given as wide.
Can someone enlighten me here or was the umpiring just bad.

on December 25, 2012, 18:54 GMT

Bhuvneshwar bowled beautifully, great to see an upcoming bowler from India.

Captainman
on December 25, 2012, 18:50 GMT

India should be proud of themselves because it shows that they have quality young players coming through especially the bowler Kumar great talented bowler and showed that speed or height isn't everything. This is what India needs to do fill in the youth so you are not wasting them like the old Pakistan team which was the only reason they won. The few young players that played for Pakistan today struggled so easily against swinging deliveries.

Sunillovescricket
on December 25, 2012, 18:49 GMT

What a joke Inidian selectors... what the hell is Jaddu doing? how can one get in the team when he fails completely in the department he is supposed to perform? Bring on Kaif if you are only looking for fielding!!

Syed_imran_abbas
on December 25, 2012, 18:49 GMT

Why not junaid khan in place for sohail tanvir???

on December 25, 2012, 18:48 GMT

Appreciation for both Debut players, Irfan and Kumar . Nerve Breaking Game, why it wont, it was pak vs india lol .we are hoping for the same type of game on 28th december, you can see both countries enjoyed the game . !and this is how cricket is .!Love for Both countrie.

Solid_Snake
on December 25, 2012, 18:45 GMT

@ Cricket_fan85->Dude..Indian team did not lose in the final over.As soon as Rahane got out,match was over for India.It was Pak who made a full drama out of a simple chase.Kumar did some damage but it id not matter in the end.You only talking about the Batsmen of Pakistan.At the time when Pakistan were bowling,you went blind at that time or what?The great batting line up was restricted to a score of 133 on a flat pitch where the score should have been like 150+ & in front of a crowd who goes dead silent while opponents winning the match.Ive never seen such a pathetic crowd.No wonder why Hafeez did not praise the crown in the presentation.
Our batting line is pathetic that everybody knows.We choke while chasing.But what you forgot was the hard work of our bowlers today.Gull almost had a hat trick,I saw only that Kumar guy as a bowler in Indian team today.

on December 25, 2012, 18:40 GMT

Its Very frustrating... umpires asking for height no ball to third umpire.... umpires bad decisions, changing complete game....

RajeevRamadugu
on December 25, 2012, 18:40 GMT

Dhoni is full of dumb excuses... whenever India loses by batting first he says 10 or 15 short...

on December 25, 2012, 18:39 GMT

a gr8 game of cricket ,,, well done both the teamz ,,, best of luck pak

Ahsan-cric-freak
on December 25, 2012, 18:34 GMT

What a way to put your feet in an arch rival country after a span of 5 yrs..! Hafiz sent a strong reply to the critics who complained for the skipper being too 'nervous and defensive' in his batting.. but all credit goes to the bowlers AJMAL and gul particularly and lets not forget LALA started all damage by dismissing first man! cheers boys and hope u will continue to build on the momentum gained so far throughout the series and one never know men in green can return with having all matches of the tour in their pockets as Indians seem to go no where with their lack of form apart from one or two players.. GO GREEN!!!

Built_4_the_Kill
on December 25, 2012, 18:34 GMT

I am unable to understand why Indian selectors did not pick 4th specialist bowler? Had there been a 4th bowler, I am sure results would have been different. Three part-time bowlers, bowled 46 balls and gave away 75 runs and guaranteed the defeat for India. 8 batsmen.... what were Indian selectors afraid of? Captain had to call for two spells from non-regular bowlers.

Also there probably were few many mistakes committed by Dhoni in this match. First of all he bowled out the most economical and highest wicket taker bowler in the first 8 overs. For the next 12 overs no more accurate swing or seam to worry about (blessings for Pakistan). In my opinion this defeat is dedicated to, firstly Indian selectors, and secondly to Dhoni's captaincy. Dhoni later at the presentation tried to cover his mistakes by calling them gamble.

BTW I am a die hard fan of Pakistan but at the same time I appreciate good cricket from any team even if they are playing against Pakistan.

Perera32
on December 25, 2012, 18:33 GMT

Well done Pakistan for your performance. This game was a thriller and Pakistan was by far the better team at the end. Good Luck for the rest of the Series.

on December 25, 2012, 18:33 GMT

thats was good game really worth watching... well Done Pakistan .. Hope to see some more tough fight again on 28th

on December 25, 2012, 18:31 GMT

congat to pakistan on this win but frankly speakly pak cann't get anything from this win. same old faces perform esp in batting as usual and will cement their place for 1,2 further series without performing and then once in a while perform and retain place further 2 series and its going on and on. india gain something despite of loss (by giving chance to new cummer and he performed) but pakistan gain none. may God give the wisdom to paki thinktank to give chance to new players esp umar amin in nxt game. this will be better for paki future...........

Kirru_Viru
on December 25, 2012, 18:31 GMT

Should have played a genuine spinner instead of dhoni's close frd...

mani1999
on December 25, 2012, 18:31 GMT

To all fans.. da most important moment for me was Ajmal vs Dhoni/Raina... The contest.. n Ajmal won that convincngly.. The proudest moment for me throughout the match.. this is real Dhoni.. no batting sense.. look at his feet moment against Ajmal.. Ajmal outclassed him.. im proud of that moment

on December 25, 2012, 18:30 GMT

well done green shirts...............you make us proud.....India starts well in both batting and bowling but that was nothing in front of Pakistani team.............after showing fabulous performance in bowling they were shattered in batting and looks like it might be difficult for Pakistan to chase down the target...............but in the end Muhammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik outclassed the Indian bowlers..............best of luck green shirts for other matches

faizan_feroz
on December 25, 2012, 18:29 GMT

a true pak-india match enjoyed it no crticism for either ! search for win by both the sides tell you hw hunger both teams were ! th sets the standar very high for the series ! still you need to get ashwin as he u cud rely upon him rather than jadeja , for the time being lets enjoy this victory ! :)

crindex
on December 25, 2012, 18:29 GMT

Ravaindra Jadeja - a genuine all rounder material-. He needs more experience in the middle with a good mentor. He has raw skills and potential. It needs to be guided properly and patiently. We might have a winner at hand. But its too early to write him off.

PAK_SUPPORTER
on December 25, 2012, 18:29 GMT

Malik once again made us proud against india

Cricket_fan85
on December 25, 2012, 18:28 GMT

Those of you who think this was a cake walk for Pakistan.. I am sorry, they played really well but I would say India lost it in the last over of the match.. Pakistan's much hyped Nasir Jamshed proved every body that he is poor in technique.. Prodigy of Pakistan Umar played in the wrong line.. Indians batted as if they are not interested in this match.. Again Ravindra Jadeja is a JOKE.. you cannot retain somebody in the team because he can field well.. MSD.. this is not IPL match, this is international stuff and you are playing with millions of people's emotion.. I dont any reason why Ravindra Jadeja is still playing.. NON SENSE... Lot of run outs, Pakistan fielded brilliarntly.. They played with purpose .. for Indians the big positive is Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Ishant.. Come on guys lets accept it .. Dhoni is always let down by his bowlers but today his batsmen let him down.. Well Played Pakistan and well lost India.. lets see what they have in store for the next match on 28th

on December 25, 2012, 18:26 GMT

ICC should appoint neutral umpires.. when 2 hard rivals are fighting against each other one false decision can change the game.

jb633
on December 25, 2012, 18:25 GMT

India this must be getting worrying now. First I must say thought that the spell of Kumar was absolutley brilliant and his control of swing in both directions was as good as you will see. It reminded me of watching Jimmy Anderson play Pakistan in 2003. Apart from him though the writing is on the wall. The minute the batsmen are confronted with high class bowling they simply surrender. The lack of quality in the IPL is destroying these Indian batsmen. They need to go and play English domestic cricket in the off season to develop a technique against the moving ball.

AndyZaltzmannsHair
on December 25, 2012, 18:25 GMT

Who says Pakistan doesn't produce FAST bowlers anymore? Loved seeing Mohammad Irfan bowling short and fast on a flat deck. He was unfortunate to have made his debut during the most destabilised time for Pak cricket, got two games, during complete disarray and never to be seen of again. But this is his real chance now. Needs to take it because there are plenty of high quality young quicks coming through, Junaid Khan can barely make the squads these days. Look at his eyes, he's got a mean streak in them, exactly what a fast bowler needs. (Wahab Riaz take note. Smiling after bowling utter garbage does not a fast bowler make.)

Syed_imran_abbas
on December 25, 2012, 18:23 GMT

These games can really improve palyers of both teams as you never find so much pressure playing against any other side. well played Hafeez and malik. Irfan and kumar were very impressive. Kumar reminded me of anwar ali's spell against india in under 19wc final. Though i see more scope for irfan than kumar as he got height and pace.

on December 25, 2012, 18:22 GMT

crumbled towards the victory. smart bowling by the debutant but PAK should have done better than this in batting(always the main worry)......hope they play for pride in the upcoming matches!!

theRule19
on December 25, 2012, 18:21 GMT

The Indians were 20 or so runs short and apparently a bowler short too..however..hats off to the debutant B.Kumar..He looks the rare kind of a bowler who can swing it both ways much like his peer P.Kumar and has decent pace than P.Kumar. Ishant got his rhythm late in the match and eventually turned out that the Indians were short of a pace bowler in the end. Rather than playing constant under performers like R.Sharma and others. Dhoni should have played an extra bowler. Anyway that will put pressure on the Indian batters to perform or perish. Play in someone like a M.Tiwary, Rayudu or U.Chand who are decent batsmen as well. But really the batting is failing more often than the bowling for Dhoni now which is even more of a worry for him.

haq33
on December 25, 2012, 18:21 GMT

Wow...india have unearthed a bowler who can swing it.....unfortunately, a single good bowler can simply be blocked out. Even more disastrous for India is that ishant Sharma fed off the pressure created by Kumar and has now made himself look good when we all know he isn't really.

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 18:21 GMT

Both teams had a good chance to climb into the No.2 spot of ICC T20 rankings if they could win 2-0. But Indians are unable to do that right now. If Pakistan win the next match, then WI is No.3 & Pak is No.2.

thesaneone
on December 25, 2012, 18:20 GMT

No wonder Pakistan won, this was not a world cup match.:)

AQ13
on December 25, 2012, 18:19 GMT

Pak batting line is brittle and full of unreliable batsmen.they should play atleast one more proper batsman like umar amin(though asad shafiq would have been my first choice had he been in the squad).Bowling is good but i dont know why Sohail Tanvir is given chances again and again while Junaid Khan rots in the dug out.

WickyRoy.paklover
on December 25, 2012, 18:19 GMT

Must admit it was poor batng efort 4rm young paki top ordr batng trio but indians were even worse,gud bowlng 4rm both sids but pakis were obviously way betr in that department as wel,but score should hav been achievd til 17 or 18th at max,nevrthles wel playd malik n hafez,mr profesor hav proven me wrong n i m hapy wd this

Htc-Android
on December 25, 2012, 18:19 GMT

Bhuvaneshwar kumar was impressive today. He was able to swing the ball both ways. he is a very good find for india.

Zahidsaltin
on December 25, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Pakistan go on bring fast bowling sensations. Mohammad Irfan with 7 feet 1 and a average speed of 145 wow

Greatest_Game
on December 25, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Rahane proving again why he should have been part of India's lineup for some time, including the test lineup!

PAK_SUPPORTER
on December 25, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Dhoni missed the trick in the last over..shud have kept an over of any fast bowler..perhaps ishant, on the otehr end, pakistan deserved to win, malik rocked and his susral is shocked..:P

on December 25, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Negative team selection by India have cost them the match. The team was flooded with batsmen with no bowler to bowl the middle overs.

on December 25, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Well done Green Shirts!!!

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 18:17 GMT

There are two big positives for Indians for rest of the matches. 1. The way their three pacemen handled the Pakistan opening batsmen. 2. The way their opening batsmen handled the Pakistan opening bowlers. Definitely India can build on that.

Syed_imran_abbas
on December 25, 2012, 18:16 GMT

Well done Pakistan. Somebody please tell sanjay manjrekar that Pakistan's batting isnt that bad and you will see that in series. its just that guy had perfect conditions and spell. Anwar ali could have been very handy in these conditons. Actually Pakistan best side is test side at the moment and i wish we had a test series as well. Ehsan Adil, Muhammad Irfan, Junaid khan And gul should be pakistan fast bowling squad for South Africa test Series.

kashijee40
on December 25, 2012, 18:16 GMT

M. irfan was excellent and the new kid for india "kumar" was excellent to. Its gud to c exciting contest. Pakistan has outstanding bowling attack while india has gud batting line up. Hope to c exciting matches in the future, And malik and hafeez were outsanding in this t20

on December 25, 2012, 18:16 GMT

At last exciting cricket. Good game. Very competitive game from both teams. I still feel if Yuvraj bowled the lsat over, the game would have gone India's way.

India need to bring Harbajan for the renaining of these series against Pakistan if they are to win the remaining games.

Harbajan can really mesmorize the Pakistan batting line up.

India was just short of fifteen to twenty runs.

Good game though

on December 25, 2012, 18:14 GMT

Proud of the indian fight back. Setbacks happen but how you deal with it is what matters. Well done Pakistan on the win. But also well done India on the attitude. Hopefully, we can win the next one.

@Aussiesfalliung - As an Indian - I really really care about Tests. But, this is a transition phase in tests. We will come back a stronger team. Just wait and see. As for T20, everything is not black and white. We were not defeated comprehensively in either of the last 2 games we lost. We could have won both games but for 1 ball. (final ball against england, Shoaib Malik's wicket today). Instead of no.5 we could be no.1. Appreciate what you got to see today. Great game.

hhillbumper
on December 25, 2012, 18:14 GMT

is there anyone who can't beat India? maybe they should play Bangladesh and see how they do with that one

on December 25, 2012, 18:14 GMT

Pakistan's 1st T20 win over India.Great bowling performance by Pakistan .Hafeez and Malik played really well in pressure situation.

Noboundary
on December 25, 2012, 18:13 GMT

B Kumar stood out for India.. can become a great test bowler. Need to give more youngsters a chance. Yuvi looks dated and uninspiring. Can't understand the hype about Jadeja. India definitely lacked another regular bowler. As usual Dhoni's captaincy was pedestrian...but he has the blessings of BCCI no matter what!

Akshita29
on December 25, 2012, 18:13 GMT

I don't know what jadeja is doing in this side . And if we are going to play 8 batsmen(I Dont know for sure bt I think kumar can bat as well then we played with 9 batsmen) we have to go hard from the begining making full use of powerplay but Gambhir again wasted too many balls up front . Yuvraj might have done well against an inexperienced England side but can not be expected to do well against pakisthanis who plays spin very well .

on December 25, 2012, 18:13 GMT

Well after this match Indians won't be arrogant like before about that Pakistan can't win from india.

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 18:12 GMT

Congratulation Pakistan. Excellent performance. What a way to come back into the game well behind. Happy to see Sohaib Malik found his form. Sajeed Ajmal proved his class again.

silversam1
on December 25, 2012, 18:11 GMT

Good opnening game of cricket. I was very happy to see youngsters in both teams performing well and experience like Gambhir, Hafeez and Malik deliver. Irfan can be very useful if coached and groomed well, at that height his pace and bounce will be a factor specially in Australia, SA and England. Proved my point that bounce with pace may be the one thing that makes Kohli a bit uneasy. You just can not beat India on the subcontinent with only spin no matter how good the spinners are, even Shane Warne couldn't do that at his peak. And a fantastic debut from Kumar exceptional swing bowling, very well done young man!I really hope fans from both nations keep hate out of this and just appreciate good games and good performances in both teams. The series still has a lot of cricket to be played, let us appreciate each other and hope this is a winner for the people and the game! Peace and long live India and Pakistan!

on December 25, 2012, 18:11 GMT

excellent match...pakistan always have to scare one way or another but malik and hafeez really held together the game

AHFAD
on December 25, 2012, 18:11 GMT

Great to see Irfan's bowling he has talent but didn't impress with his thinking. With this height and pace he should bowl atleast one bouncer an over. He should be bowling on or around the off stump.. specially to sub-continent batsmen. Also he need to prove that he can bowl yorkers. B.Kumar knows how to swing the ball but the most important skill he has is his brain. It was awesome how he deceived Pak batsmen. Having said the, B.Kumar may not be effective on different pitches. But Irfan can be effective in all conditions as long as he shows some intelligence. Saeed Ajmal should always bowl round the wicket. For some unknown reasons, he started over the wicket and we all saw he got hammered easily.

asimikram
on December 25, 2012, 18:11 GMT

Well, everyone was saying that Irfan would be a surprise package from Pakistanbut I think in this match Shoaib Malik was a surprise package. On a serious note, India was outperformed by Pakistan. I am awlays a big admirer of Indian batsman but today it was really astounding to see the way all the illustrious names fell apart.

dharsanti
on December 25, 2012, 18:10 GMT

akmal brothers should show aggression by performing rather fighting. learn from hafeez! when sharma blocked him hel kept calm and responded by performing well. Dhoni! lets play exciting game, india has better batsmen, so rather then playing with extra batsman, lets play with extra bowler.

QingdaoXI
on December 25, 2012, 18:10 GMT

Well played Pakistan, but would have tried to close the match 2 overs before as India flopped in batting it will not happen regularly in this formats. Well bowled Bhuvaneshwar, and well bat Ajinkya, young guns played well, dumped that gambhir (he is now not suitable for t-20 cricket, he took lots of bowls and put pressure on middle order to score fast runs. India should drop gambhir and Jadeja and bring in Rayudu and Ashwin in next match it will be perfect team. Open with Rahane and Kohli, Yuvraj, Rohit, Raina, Rayudu, Dhoni, Ashwin, Bhuvaneshwar, Ishant, Dinda/Awana. Dhoni should stick to his position at number 7 and dont try to to come up the order so it unsettles the batting order. Rohit and Raina should play at 4 and 5. And now on Kohli should start opening with Rahane in both ODI's and T-20, dump Sehwag and Gambhir. and in test Rahane should open with Sehwag for a while till Unmukt comes of his age.

on December 25, 2012, 18:09 GMT

Glad to see Pakistan's victory in india's own backyard, great cricket match, with almost famous Pakistan's collaspe, but unrxpectibly rebuild, then famous Pakistan's panic at the later part of the match, But it's Pakistan who rocked, and made india Shocked, i would wish junnaid khan should get a place instead of ordinary Sohail Tanvir, our selectors are wasting true talent really, junnaid khan is a kind of bowler, who is capable to bring lost reputation of our traditional swing bowling...no way tanvir can.

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 18:08 GMT

Extremely happy to see both India & Pakistan playing each other. What ever the outcome, this could be a big occasion in the cricket world. Wish success for both teams in future matches.

Solid_Snake
on December 25, 2012, 18:07 GMT

Btw why did Ishant fight with Amal?Just because Akmal pointed out that shoulder height ball to the Umpire..Lol this is simply pathetic..
The game was great & a thriller but there were so many things which were against the spirit of the game

Htc-Android
on December 25, 2012, 18:05 GMT

Rohit sharma and ravindra jadeja are match winners. They are the best match winners in the world. They once again proved their match winning abilities on today.

Solid_Snake
on December 25, 2012, 18:05 GMT

Awesome win..
I hope now people would shut their mouth regarding Ajmal..Today he literally demolished Indian batting line up.Anyways Congrats to Pak but i am so angry that they always had to make a Drama out of a simple chase..
Congrats to all Pak fans & Great fight India..Great game..

PS->One more thing..Why is it that when the opponent is winning,Indian crown start moving out of the stadium & goes dead silent..Why cant you cheer for the opponents..Why..If it was Pakistan,we would have cheered for India as well for every boundary or a Six..But here i saw something unusual that is found only in Indian Crowd..So Sad

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 18:04 GMT

Indians were one bowler short & their own batting put the Pakistanis on the right path.

dontlikecricket
on December 25, 2012, 18:04 GMT

A good game of cricket and a great victory for Pak to start the tour. India will need to do everything possible to win the next game in order to stop Pak becoming more confident. This series is not only about players' quality but more importantly settling the nerves and becoming use to play under extreme pressure.
Another win for Pak in next game, then India will likley to be under much more pressure and will likley to loose most of the games during this series.
Well done Pak though. The quality in their bowling clealry showed up today.

on December 25, 2012, 18:04 GMT

Well done Green Shirts. Keep winning in India!

abhiyog
on December 25, 2012, 18:04 GMT

Was an amazing game of Cricket, Pakistan played sensibly and India fought well in defending below par 133........another sporting pitch with good help to the seamers in Bangalore after the test match against NZ earlier.........Hopefully india levels the series at Motera......Congrats to pak brothers across the border.........

ArmyJim
on December 25, 2012, 18:04 GMT

WOW, now that was riveting stuff, what a finish by Pakistan. Great, thrilling finish. I believed India would win, despite their low target set, right up until the last 3 overs. Well done Pakistan, almost as good as the Morgan finish in the last India/England T20.

kc69
on December 25, 2012, 18:03 GMT

wow..indeed was a good match(even though my team lost)..well we gotta admit Pakistan played well(Malik and Hafeez).India lost half of the match during their batting.Excited to see Bhuvneshwar kumar bowling and again our great sir Ravindra Jadeja again getting captain's support ahead of R Ashwin,i dont know whats his role in the team?

on December 25, 2012, 18:03 GMT

very bad captaincy by msd,,choosing jadeja instead of ashwin..and after 9 ovr attacking spinner in both end..and dspite being hammerd didnt brink back ishnt or dinda for one over spell to break the partershp..defensive captaincy

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 18:02 GMT

What a spell it was. Like to see & impressed with B. Kumar's bowling. B. Kumar is the Christmas gift for India.

on December 25, 2012, 18:02 GMT

well played by both teams. good win for pak, confidence boosting but still not perfect. Good bowling by pakistan. i would say they are missing 1 medium pace batting allrounder. good debut by Irfan & much improved from 2010 in terms of speed & line. very imprsive by B Kumar. but i would say dhoni mistakenly used all 4 overs there should have kept some 4 later.good batting by hafeez & malik & good to see them scoring. but plenty of drama by pakistan. batting need to improve and looks 1 bats man short pakistan.

on December 25, 2012, 18:02 GMT

Is this the beginning of the end of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, once the 'crowned' king of the T20 and later 'ODI' formats?

on December 25, 2012, 17:59 GMT

where are indian commemtators, who were enthusiastic about their team? what a poor selection by dhoni, only a packed batting line up... no bowler has made his presence felt except kumar, who too was a debutante.

it was wonderful to see the indian batting line up falling like a house of cards.....

good work pakistan... you have done it....

on December 25, 2012, 17:59 GMT

wow team work, dedication.

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 17:57 GMT

What a game of cricket. Lot of excitement for a neutral fan. But, i can feel the feelings of Ind & Pak fans. Nice match to see on Christmas day!

The_big_j
on December 25, 2012, 17:57 GMT

Moh'd Irfan impressed wish to see more of him and hopefully the coaching staff takes good care of him he can be a very big asset against SA.

on December 25, 2012, 17:56 GMT

Thanx Malik :)
and team pakistan

TheProfPak
on December 25, 2012, 17:56 GMT

Congrats Team Pakistan, well done!!!
With this win, Pakistan climb the ladder in ICC ranking and now ON 3rd position ;).

on December 25, 2012, 17:56 GMT

Dhoni got bad captaincy, he should play one more regular bowler... Shahid Afridi broke the opening partnership and then all over... He is a partnership breaker..

LahoriLion009
on December 25, 2012, 17:55 GMT

Well done GREEN SHIRTS u rocks ......DIA GHUMA KE....

Aussiesfalling
on December 25, 2012, 17:54 GMT

These past few months, India have come in for an awful lot of criticism, some of it unjustified.
Their Test performances were criticised and many concluded that India just don't care about Test cricket, or don't care about Test cricket as much as they care about T20 cricket.
Asked to justify this view, critics could easily point to the fact that India were rated down at No5 in the ICC Test Rankings.
However, this arguement has now been seriously undermined as India are now rated down at No5 in the ICC T20 Rankings.
In a month's time, India could have easily fallen to 5th place in the ODI rankings. At which point is anyone actually going to suggest that India doesn't care any form of cricket?

on December 25, 2012, 17:53 GMT

Fantastic victory...Pakistan would loss if India had 2 more Quality bowlers..But very happy to c Shoaib Malik got rhythm and he Was trying for it all the times in each match he was played but was not clicking...One of my favorite Batsman in Pak team...Experience matters and a right Match winning inning at right time..I am ascertain Pakistan will whitewash both series...

on December 25, 2012, 17:52 GMT

The team which hold the pressure will win the series, Pak hold its nervs well on time

on December 25, 2012, 13:26 GMT

Letz see.........,,,,,,,,...............

Player_007
on December 26, 2012, 5:06 GMT

India had great start in batting and bowling but failed to capitalize them….the y collapsed in batting and the later bowlers were not good enough to keep the pressure built by Kumar. On other hand Pakistan came back strongly from early jitters in bowling and batting. Pakistan kept their nerves and handled the pressure well…..shows again India's weakness in bowling and on other hand Pakistan's improvement in batting in pressure situation….well done men in green….keep up the tempo!!

Bogelking
on December 26, 2012, 2:58 GMT

It was a good game of cricket played in the right spirit. Pakistan deserves full credit for the tremendous comeback they made to the game, while India was rocketting to a score nearly 150-160, thanks to a strong foundation laid by the openers. No doubt that there are some good bowlers for Pakistan that they can easily recover from a precarious condition. So it is not that much surprising to anyone given the talent of the Pakistan bowling unit. The batting barring the openers from the Indian side was disappointing, but after all this is a game, and no one need to take this as a war of prestige. The friendly pat that Hafeez had with Ishant, who unintentionally ran into the way of Haffez taking a single was good to see. It was a good gesture from their part. All above this, amidst the dark clouds of defeat, the silver lining that we got was a memorable debut from B Kumar. It really underlines the fact that there is no dearth of bowling talent in India. Congrats Kumar Keep rolling!!!!!!!!

on December 26, 2012, 0:06 GMT

A great game of exiting cricket ebbing and swaying towards victory for either side. Nice to see some young cricketers blooded for their first indo-pak contest. Each team plays to its strengths. Indias bat deep policy does make sense as by posting a high score their average bowlers will get wickets through scoreboard pressure. Fail to score high and inevitably you lose. India need to consider playing another specialist bowler instead of a batsman. Pakistan policy of taking wickets has served them well since Imran Khans days. However their batting is brittle. Pakistan too often are 3 or 4 wickets down against swing bowling. Play forward and negate the swing. Stay on the crease and waft the bat you will be out again!. Still brilliant bowling by debutant Kumar. Pakistan fielding actually won this game ... that has to be a first. And they played with 6 specialist bowlers. Good contest by both.

on December 25, 2012, 13:26 GMT

Letz see.........,,,,,,,,...............

on December 25, 2012, 17:52 GMT

The team which hold the pressure will win the series, Pak hold its nervs well on time

on December 25, 2012, 17:53 GMT

Fantastic victory...Pakistan would loss if India had 2 more Quality bowlers..But very happy to c Shoaib Malik got rhythm and he Was trying for it all the times in each match he was played but was not clicking...One of my favorite Batsman in Pak team...Experience matters and a right Match winning inning at right time..I am ascertain Pakistan will whitewash both series...

Aussiesfalling
on December 25, 2012, 17:54 GMT

These past few months, India have come in for an awful lot of criticism, some of it unjustified.
Their Test performances were criticised and many concluded that India just don't care about Test cricket, or don't care about Test cricket as much as they care about T20 cricket.
Asked to justify this view, critics could easily point to the fact that India were rated down at No5 in the ICC Test Rankings.
However, this arguement has now been seriously undermined as India are now rated down at No5 in the ICC T20 Rankings.
In a month's time, India could have easily fallen to 5th place in the ODI rankings. At which point is anyone actually going to suggest that India doesn't care any form of cricket?

LahoriLion009
on December 25, 2012, 17:55 GMT

Well done GREEN SHIRTS u rocks ......DIA GHUMA KE....

on December 25, 2012, 17:56 GMT

Dhoni got bad captaincy, he should play one more regular bowler... Shahid Afridi broke the opening partnership and then all over... He is a partnership breaker..

TheProfPak
on December 25, 2012, 17:56 GMT

Congrats Team Pakistan, well done!!!
With this win, Pakistan climb the ladder in ICC ranking and now ON 3rd position ;).

on December 25, 2012, 17:56 GMT

Thanx Malik :)
and team pakistan

The_big_j
on December 25, 2012, 17:57 GMT

Moh'd Irfan impressed wish to see more of him and hopefully the coaching staff takes good care of him he can be a very big asset against SA.

colombo_SL
on December 25, 2012, 17:57 GMT

What a game of cricket. Lot of excitement for a neutral fan. But, i can feel the feelings of Ind & Pak fans. Nice match to see on Christmas day!